IDC to MSDT in About Two Weeks...

[shadragon]

I am currently a DM candidate and I will be finishing up that course in the next few weeks. I have been invited to go onto the IDC and am still considering that decision. I seem to be developing a rash from sitting on the fence for a long time as I consider my options, but that is the only downside so far...

I see that there are many resorts offering the IDC and some even offer a program that takes you through IDC / EFR and MSDT in a few weeks of continuous training. These are warm water resorts which would be great as I am used to being in Canadian waters. So I could take a two week vacation and get it all done in one shot. However, I am wondering if this is the best approach...

So here is the question for those who have "Been there and done that": Is it better to take each course independently with time for experience in-between, or do them all at once in the tropics and go from there?

Cheers.

 

[Spratman]

 

[Bubble Junky]

A big benefit of doing the Specialty Instructor training with a CD, apart from gaining tips and insights from someone with a wealth of experience teaching these courses, is that you can start to teach the specialties straight away, as opposed to needing 25 certs to apply for the Specialty Instructor rating if you've not done the training with a CD.

 

[jiveturkey]

Do you have the experience and skill level to expertly dive those specialties in cold water? In theory, there is no difference between the skill level of a DM vs an instructor. If that is truely the case, it shouldn't matter where you do your IDC. The IDC is about learning to teach the skills that you're already supposed to have mastered. If you're an expert diver, you have the knowledge but you just need to be taught how to pass it on.

 

[pir8]

I was always of the mind that you should do your IDC/IE where you are going to be teaching. I would reccomend the MSDT Prep course though if you decide to go for it.

 

[scuba70]

I would rather take the time and have a quality training experience rather than having to complete the course in 2 weeks. If you're able to take your time and develop the proper skills, it will pay dividends to your future students.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Let me explain the 'MSDT course', as this is in the Basic Scuba Discussions forum.

After completeing the IDC & IE an instructor is an OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor), and can independantly teach OW, AOW, Rescue, DM (in addition to what a DM/AI can teach). To become an MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer), they have to be able to teach five Specialties and have issued 25 certs. There are different methods of gaining these Specialty Instructor ratings. You can either wait until you have gained experience teaching (ie. issued 25 certs) and apply directly to PADI, or you can do a Specialty Instructor training course for each one with a Course Director. When you do the courses with a CD, you can apply to teach them straight away as you have had guidance in how to teach them from the CD. Completing five of these courses with a CD, does not make you an MSDT - you still need to get the 25 certs before you can apply for this rating.

What a lot of centres offer is an 'MSDT Internship', rather than an 'MSDT Course'. This involves completing the five Specialty Instructor training courses with a CD (this should take under a week, depending on location/logistics/specialties etc.), then having the chance to work alongside the experienced instructors of that dive centre, team-teaching. This means you teach 'real' courses alongside an experienced instructor, so you get to learn about the scheduling/logistics of the courses, and how to handle 'real' students. The 'MSDT Internee', will then have to conduct the final dive of the course to be able to certify the divers. This is a good way to gain a lot of real world teaching experience, whilst also accumulating the 25 certs needed to be able to apply for the MSDT rating.

So, as far as time and two weeks being enough, that depends on the dive centre you choose. As I mentioned earlier, the Specialty Instructor courses with a CD should take no more than a week (in a typical tropical setting), including a few days in the classroom going through the outlines, equipment etc. You then need the time after this phase to certify 25 divers. You can do it quicker at busier school, or you can take your time (smaller courses, but more of them) with a less busy dive centre. So, in response to.......

I would rather take the time and have a quality training experience rather than having to complete the course in 2 weeks.

......I would say that the quality of the training experience will depend more on the quality of the CD and instructors you choose to work with, rather than the amount of time you spend doing it.

 

[jiveturkey]

Bubble Junky,
I'm assuming (hoping) specialty instructors still have to have a minimum number of dives (I think it's 20 or 25) in each specialty before they can be signed off as an instructor for that specialty. Please tell me that an instructor who went from zero to hero with 101 dives cannot become say, a drysuit specialty instructor without at least a certain amount of experience diving that method.

I know that since they removed night diving from the mandatory AOW dives it's possible for a diver to become an instructor without ever having dived at night. According to PADI, that instructor is still considered "qualified" to teach night diving in AOW should a student choose it as an elective. That still amazes me.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Bubble Junky,
I'm assuming (hoping) specialty instructors still have to have a minimum number of dives (I think it's 20 or 25) in each specialty before they can be signed off as an instructor for that specialty. Please tell me that an instructor who went from zero to hero with 101 dives cannot become say, a drysuit specialty instructor without at least a certain amount of experience diving that method.

If they apply directly to PADI, they need 20 dives in that specialty area, if they do the course with a CD they need 10.

I know that since they removed night diving from the mandatory AOW dives it's possible for a diver to become an instructor without ever having dived at night. According to PADI, that instructor is still considered "qualified" to teach night diving in AOW should a student choose it as an elective. That still amazes me.

This is not true, part of the prerequisites for the IDC state a diver must have documented proof of night, navigation and deep diving.

 

[Thalassamania]

Learning to teach five specialties in warm water is going to do very little for you when you come home to teach. Do your instructor training in the water you plan to teach in, it'll pay off in the long run.