PADI Rescue Diver

[Colliam7]

Can anyone tell me exactly how the PADI Rescue Diver cert. course is structured, i.e. classroom time (days or parts of days) and in water time as well as what is taught?

It can be structured in a variety of ways, as the purpose is to meet the objectives, rather than a particular schedule. We generally teach the course over two nights (8 hours) of academics, and two days (8-5) of diving. However, we also at times teach 'private' / individual courses over a more extended period of time, to accomodate the student diver's schedule.
1. The academics areas covered include:
Being Prepared for an Emergency
The Psychology of rescue
Accident Management
Responding to Diver Emergencies

2. The diving involves a series of scenarios, that build basic skills and culminate in 'open water' scenarios than combine those skills into rescue efforts. In general, the in-water scenarios address skills such as:
Self-rescue
Assisting a tired / panicked diver on the surface, and underwater
Responding - from shore, boat, dock – to a responsive diver
Responding - from shore, boat, dock – to an unresponsive diver
Locating a submerged, unresponsive diver

Certainly this is not a comprehensive desciption, but more of a topical overview.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Wow. My PADI rescue course was 4 classroom sessions of 2-3 hours each, 3 pool sessions of 2 hours each, and a full weekend of dives to go over 12 scenarios. Half of them were surface stuff but still I don't know how it could have been done as thoroughly in 2 days. I'm figuring around the same amt of time for my DRAM class when I get the opportunity to conduct one.

 

[Richard_T]

I want to thank all of you for your great input. I'm doing the PADI course right away.

Next, I'll be asking about the divemaster cert. program.

 

[driftwood]

I want to thank all of you for your great input. I'm doing the PADI course right away.

Next, I'll be asking about the divemaster cert. program.

The PADI Rescue Diver is the first course that makes you really look outside yourself to include your fellow divers in your "situational awareness". An absolutely fantastic class that every diver should take.

Divemaster is a completely different course and you really should put in a lot more dives before you decide to go down that road.

 

[clay144]

As an instructor, there are many ways you can do the course. There are 6 chapters in the book to be covered, the 6th being a knowledge review. You can do the pool work during the classes or at the end. I like to do the pool work as soon as possible so that the information is fresh in the candidates mind. Then there are the open water senarios. I do them at the end after the final exam is over and out of the way. I try to make it as interesting and fun as possible. Fun the the reason we all dive, but this is a serious course that will make you a much better diver.

 

[DBailey]

Wow. My PADI rescue course was 4 classroom sessions of 2-3 hours each, 3 pool sessions of 2 hours each, and a full weekend of dives to go over 12 scenarios. Half of them were surface stuff but still I don't know how it could have been done as thoroughly in 2 days. I'm figuring around the same amt of time for my DRAM class when I get the opportunity to conduct one.

It was re-vamped (ie condensed) a couple years ago. There are now 4 scenarios instead of the 12. Some of the scenarios were moved to the pool.

The 4 open water scenarios now involved some acting by the instructor, assistants, and fellow students. The pool exercises give the students the pieces of information, and the open water scenarios require the students to piece together the information to execute the rescue. I (as the instuctor) learned more from teaching the new scenarios then I did from the "old 12 scenarios" from when I took the course.

 

[emoreira]

I'm interested in the next level to the PADI Rescue Diver Cert. course. In my dive club, a few people appear to be going for that certification, but it looks like it's broken up over time.

Can anyone tell me exactly how the PADI Rescue Diver cert. course is structured, i.e. classroom time (days or parts of days) and in water time as well as what is taught?

PM sent.