Equipment Exchange 'surprise'

[tboxcar]

Yesterday in our dive shop, I asked the boss (who is training 2 DMT's) if they have done their equipment exchange yet???? I got several odd looks by the other instructors who took me into the office and told me in private, 'hey it's a surprise' they don't know they are are doing it". I looked at them with amusement, a surprise as 'they don't know it's one of the skills they must do' or it's a surprise that they don't even know the drill exist.
So in other words, you have 2 DMT's who don't even know what their course consist of? I just thought was kinda odd as before I did the DM course I did alot of background studying on it?
Any comments to this?

 

[TMHeimer]

I've heard from some that the surprise is that they don't know exactly when (what day) they are doing it. That was the case for us as well.

 

[Scott]

I give my DMC's a outline of the course during orientation. While they know the equipment exchange is required, the day is not given. It is not that I am trying to keep a secret from them, it is because pool and classroom schedules can change.

tboxcar, I like that you did some leg work before your course. Part of being a DM is knowing where to find answers to questions. IMO

 

[knotical]

Assuming PADI, the Instructor Manual simply says:

Give buddy teams less than five minutes to discuss the exercise.

This leaves a wide range of interpretations about how to preserve the implied element of surprise, as evidenced by the first post.

With only two candidates, if they know all about the exercise, they might assume their buddy will be the other candidate. Or, "Surprise!" I or another staff member might be their buddy. When we role play this way, we work hard to be average buddies.

 

[Ste Wart]

Normally the 'surprise' element is that the instructor will torture the DMT's underwater. Such instructors should be struck off PADI.

Examples from a region I used to work.

1: Performed at 20ms
2: Students told to exchange weight belts.
3: Instructor turns off both air supplies - just for fun!
4: Instructors swim around ripping off masks etc etc.

It's routinely described as the 'stress test' in most parts of the world. It's not supposed to be stressful, it's a problem solving exercise!

 

[Hawkwood]

Actually, check the 2011 DM Instructor Guide. That "harassment" BS is outside of Standard: "Do not assign problems – allow candidates to resolve any naturally-occuring ones."

 

[DBailey]

From the PADI website, here are the materials that the DMC should have before the class starts:

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Divemaster crewpak includes everything you’ll need to start the PADI Divemaster program. The complete set of materials includes:

The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving - a comprehensive overview of diving physics, physiology, and equipment.
Divemaster slates
PADI Divemaster Manual
PADI Instructor Manual
Scuba Tune-Up Guidebook
DSD Cue Card
Pro Logbook

If the DMC has the Instructor's Manual, and they are intelligent enough to flip to the divemaster section, nothing should be a surprise.