Advanced diver vs. Advanced training

[Web Monkey]

I can say this with my students. They also know that this sport can kill them very quickly if they push themselves too far too fast.

Yours probably can. The problem is with "card inflation" where an "Open Water " C-card means very different things depending on where it came from and who signed it.

Terry

 

[SharkDiver36]

The certification means only they did the minimums to get the card - not that they're experts at that level of knowledge.

Every cert at every level is only mastered thru practice. A new instructor isn't "great" but become "great" over time - experience dictates they get better. That doesn't mean they are any less of an instructor but that they lack the experience which they will get over time. New Instructors pass the minium to get the card. They will get better every time they teach a class.

Same is true for an Advanced Diver. If someone get's their advanced card but doesn't practice or maintain those skills then they'll lose or forget them in short-order.

OW Diver who dives 30 times a year.
AOW who dives 4 times a year.

I'll take the OW guy.

Too many variables to beat the guy up or the Instructor who issued the card.

 

[DevonDiver]

A new instructor isn't "great" but become "great" over time - experience dictates they get better.

Not really.

If that were true...it would dictate that every weekend jogger would become a "great" runner over time.

Being "great" comes from 3 things.

1. Experience and Practise
2. Natural Talent/Ability
3. The correct mental attitude.

I have met 'experienced' instructors who I would not even choose to fun dive with. They get their certification, think they have learned all there is to learn...and it makes their diving worse, less safe, more sloppy as time progresses.

This is true for any, and every, level of diving.

Some natural aptitude, plus a lot of dedication....and a relentless desire to recognise weaknesses and improve..... that is what makes an advanced diver.

 

[Rhone Man]

Hello,

As an instructor I have to put this up.

Advanced Open Water Course verses an Advanced Diver.

I have had many divers turn up on boats or at resorts that I have have worked at with "Advanced Diver" cards and have found many to not even have the skills I would like to see in a Basic diver.

What should we do about this, should we make the "Advanced "card hard to get? Should we remove it all together and just use log books?

Please share your thoughts.

I think I can beat this. I am doing my "DM refresher" at the moment (originally did my DM 19 years ago and it lapsed, now I am refreshing it). PADI says one of the requirements is to perform the 20 basic skills to demonstration quality, so I find myself in shallow water with an instructor and 3 other DM candidates demonstrating the 20 basic skills. And I kid you not, some of the DM candidates could not perform some of the basic skills. Aye caramba.

 

[Soggy_Diver]

I found the AOW course well worthwhile. It did not make me (or my classmates) literally "advanced"--more like "advanced beginner." But the instructor and DMs worked us hard on navigation and buoyancy in particular, so I definitely learned more from these dives than from an equal number of typical fun dives.

In terms of screening divers for dives: After getting certified, when I was going on dive trips, I emailed or talked to the organizer or DM, and straightforwardly told them what my certs were, what kind of dives I have done and not done, what kind of gear I have, and what I thought my skill level was. Then I asked them if they thought that the trip was appropriate for me. I think that they gave me honest, realistic answers.

 

[Blackwood]

While this is one problem, it isn't the "only" problem. If a couple divers walk away with their "Advanced" certifications and decide to try an "Advanced" dive together, they could end up in serious trouble. No dive op is required for this to turn bad.

In that instance, those two students ARE the dive op, and they know what they learned. In theory, anyway, they'll consider the dives they were trained for to be advanced. There is no disconnect by definition.