tilikum
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Rescue diver course questions
- Thread starter Liz T
- Start date
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motorref
Contributor
Liz,
my wife got certified 2 years ago at age 53; for as long as we have been married she has been reluctant / unwilling to get her face/hair/head wet. She finally decided to get certified because we were taking vacations with some friends - Lisa is/was my dive buddy, and my wife said she was tired of just sitting around.
We used an instructor out of Force E in Boca Raton named Alec (McGuinness, I think), and we could not have asked for anyone better - patient, understanding, etc.; I highly recommend him, and my wife insists that she get to spend a day or two with him every time we are there.
If the shop can't give you his #, PM me and I'll send it to you.
KevinL
my wife got certified 2 years ago at age 53; for as long as we have been married she has been reluctant / unwilling to get her face/hair/head wet. She finally decided to get certified because we were taking vacations with some friends - Lisa is/was my dive buddy, and my wife said she was tired of just sitting around.
We used an instructor out of Force E in Boca Raton named Alec (McGuinness, I think), and we could not have asked for anyone better - patient, understanding, etc.; I highly recommend him, and my wife insists that she get to spend a day or two with him every time we are there.
If the shop can't give you his #, PM me and I'll send it to you.
KevinL
A good rescue course is as much about preventing accidents (if not more) than responding to them. You don't have to effect rescues or recoveries, which honestly is a possibility, if you head off the problems that lead to them in the first place.
The biggest issue I see with all rescue classes is the false sense of security they convey in many cases.
This is due to there being no requirement to refresh those skills. I'm betting there are thousands of "Rescue Divers" who haven't practiced a single skill in years. We (SEI Instructors) start with rescue skills in the Open Water Class. NAUI does as well.
What a rescue class should do is take into account each individual student and show them how to use their strengths to their advantage and any weaknesses are worked at to help the diver find workarounds or push their abilities through them.
Is a mature person who is 110 lbs going to be able to drag a 300 lb diver completely out of the water? Unlikely but they can still be effective rescuers in their own right by getting them to shallow water or the boat, getting them out of their gear, assisting with resuscitation efforts once they are out with the help of others, and providing valuable info to EMS.
I don't see failing a rescue student who tries their best yet may come up a little short in an area. Encouraging someone and providing the tools for them to do something is better than saying "Sorry, you can't pass this class. You have to watch that person die."
My oldest rescue students, so far, were a 64 yr old couple. They did the best they could and are better divers and buddies for it.
The biggest issue I see with all rescue classes is the false sense of security they convey in many cases.
This is due to there being no requirement to refresh those skills. I'm betting there are thousands of "Rescue Divers" who haven't practiced a single skill in years. We (SEI Instructors) start with rescue skills in the Open Water Class. NAUI does as well.
What a rescue class should do is take into account each individual student and show them how to use their strengths to their advantage and any weaknesses are worked at to help the diver find workarounds or push their abilities through them.
Is a mature person who is 110 lbs going to be able to drag a 300 lb diver completely out of the water? Unlikely but they can still be effective rescuers in their own right by getting them to shallow water or the boat, getting them out of their gear, assisting with resuscitation efforts once they are out with the help of others, and providing valuable info to EMS.
I don't see failing a rescue student who tries their best yet may come up a little short in an area. Encouraging someone and providing the tools for them to do something is better than saying "Sorry, you can't pass this class. You have to watch that person die."
My oldest rescue students, so far, were a 64 yr old couple. They did the best they could and are better divers and buddies for it.
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