Naui Dive Master...

[SharkBaite]

Has anyone completed their DM through NAUI or currently enrolled in the program.

I am looking for others going through the same for input or suggestions

 

[edparris]

Do you have a specific question or are you just looking for a peer support group?

 

[dldiver]

I'm on my way there....
I'm doing my rescue now but we're incorporating a lot of the DM/Instructor skills, etc. because that's the direction i'm going

 

[carlislere]

So, what are you wanting to know?

 

[SharkBaite]

Just wanting to compare notes about requirements and the type of Mentor you have used. any ideas or sugestions in making this an easy course so I can get the most out of it.

 

[tasdiver]

Finished a year ago . . . been working as a NAUI DM/AI. In my IE now. How can we help?

 

[edparris]

Well if you’ll give me license to rephrase your question I’ll answer it as follows: “How can I make this a difficult course so I can get the most out of it?”

Regarding course requirements, get a copy of the NAUI S&P and check out the “NAUI Leadership Courses” section (pages 2.69-2.87 in my copy). That will spell out the MINIMUM requirements for your certification.

Regarding mentors I would start by looking for a principal instructor that is going to exceed the minimum requirements listed in the S&P. If you want to get a lot out of a class start by finding an instructor that is going to set the bar high.

After that I’d suggest that you find more than one mentor. For me I worked with the instructors at the LDS to get a feel for what it is like to DM for a retail business. Concurrently I helped teach SCUBA classes at the local community college to get the academic scoop from a full time educator. I’m still looking for an opportunity to learn from a charter operator (though that will likely require a change in residence to become feasible).

For each mentor I’d start out with a conversation where you make it very clear as to what you’d like to learn from them and what your availability is. Remember to be open to recommendations as you might not know what you don’t know.

I’m not sure how they’ll run your program but I’ll roughly divide the class I took into two parts. The first was the classroom and academic material; the second was a DM internship. Here are a few thoughts on each (certainly not a comprehensive list):

Academic:

Treat the NAUI texts as a survey of the topics you should have a firm grasp on. Just reading the texts did not give me the depth of understanding I wanted so I ended up reading a bunch of additional books on the topics.

Work hard on learning how to give a concise yet complete dive briefings and lectures. You don’t want to leave anything important out but you also don’t want to loose the attention of the people you’re trying to lead.

Spend some time and effort trying to develop your own presentations for the practice lectures you give. The NAUI provided slides are fine as a basis but will turn into a better presentation if you can augment the material with some of your own experiences. For example, don’t just read the slides on dive planning describe an actual dive you conducted and the planning you did. Explain any problems you encountered and how you would plan for them in the future. Make sure to solicit a detailed critique from your mentors and follow through with that critique to help develop a teaching style.

Internship:

Seek out and work with the problem divers. Let’s face it the good divers don’t need you as much so you might as well get used to dealing with the special cases. I’m not just talking about diving skills problems here. The customer that thinks they know everything and is never satisfied is likely going to be more of a PITA then the guy that doesn’t know what neutral buoyancy is.

Work with as many different instructors/operators as you can. They’re all going to have a different way of running things. Adopt the best ideas into your style and learn to be flexible about the other stuff. Ask for feedback from everyone and don’t waste their time by not working to correct the issues your mentors have identified for you.

Finally remember to keep your own skills sharp. If you’re going to guide divers in a particular area spend the time diving the sites without clients to make sure you know it like the back of your hand.

Anyway I’ve rambled on enough for one post. If you want more ask some specific questions or start a debate about a topic. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of opinions.