Too easy to become a DM??

[GTADiver]

Do you think it is too easy to become a Dive Master? Do the agencies require enough experience as a diver as a prerequisite? How many hours of bottom time/number of dives should someone have prior to being allowed on a Dive Master course?

 

[montereydivemas]

i think it really depends on the person getting trained, without sounding egotistical (i hope) I feel that I have been more than prepared to be an instructor since my first certificaton, i studied more and was much more prepared than anyone else in my class. my open water instructor corrected the rest of the class's with my paper after i finished and took a nap HOWEVER I know that there is always more to learn and am always looking for ways to improve myself. I still have one more class to go untill I am an instructor and I am a firm believer that more should be taught in the open water class. As a divemaster I have seen pelnty of people pass that are fairly borderline and yet the general state of the industry seems to be "if you pay for your class we will pass you" that being said anyone who doesnt value thier own skin enough to pay attention in class is probably just as safe driving a car as swimming in the ocean. I'm sure there will be debates on this from all sides but I really would have liked to learn more right from the beginning of class rather than waiting intill DM class where I did learn a lot of interesting and usefull things.

 

[DameDykker]

I'm doing NASE courses and locally they don't do DMs anymore - as they say:" We have no need for a dive guide". Here the line is RD, Emergency Responce and then directly to Senior Assistent Instructor which requires 70 dives.

 

[Welshman]

I've just signed up for the PADI DM course and the materials look fairly substantial. The instructors at my LDS tell me that it will be hard work but great fun. For PADI you have to have completed 60 dives by the end of the course.

60 dives is not that many but I agree with Monterey's point about attitude and willingness to learn. Number of dives is not the only guide to your competence in the water.

 

[chiara]

I learned something very recently: because I was the only person beyond Rescue (except for the instructor) in my local club, I had no clue to judge how well my DM course was.

When I finally changed clubs a few months later, I realized the whole course (except perhaps for the theory) had been a joke.

Hopefully PADI will have a thorough look into the matter, and yes, I am ready to give my c-card back if they judge the need is there.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I don't know if the number of dives is a good way to asses experience but certainly experience is important. I have the same problem with DM training that I do with all other training. I don't believe there is enough emphisis on teaching proper technique. Kneeling on the bottom of a pool demonstrating skills IS NOT A TEST OF TECHNIQUE. IMO too many DM's and instructors just don't dive well. Other than that I think the DM candidate has some responsibility in deciding if they are experienced enough to solve problems on the fly and respond to/avoid emergencies.

 

[fredk]

I think GTA has raised a very good question. In my opinion I think the tools are all in place to train good divemasters, I believe the instructor doing the training is ultimately responsible for training. Another problem I have personally seen and this not only applies to divemasters but instructors as well, and that is very few actually go out and work in the real world. There is more to instructing than kneeling on the bottom of a pool or lake and getting a student to do skills.
When you start working in big operations and students are being pressed in a chamber 99% of the time this accident didn't happen because the student messed up it happened because the instructor or divemaster didn't advise them properly.
Bad divers, bad divemasters aren't always the fault of that individual but the one who trained them.
My own opinion is a good divemaster is one who is always learning and passing it on to other divers.
It would be nice if all divemasters and instructors could work in the real world for a while, it certainly would cut out some of the bad ones.
BOTTOM LINE IS if they are not ready for the responsibility don't sign them off.

 

[chickdiver]

Number of dives can be a very subjective guage. For example, I once knew someone who, in order to meet the minimum number of dives requirement for an ITC, would go to the same dive site and do dives that met the "minimum requirement" to be considered a dive for training purposes. He met the requirement, on paper, but did he actually have that much experience? NO!! I would far rather take a look at the type of diving an individual does is at least as important as quantity. IMHO, I would prefer to actually dive with DM Candidates before admitting them to a course so that I may evaluate their skills in the "real world". Their skills and responses are the most important things, if they are willing to learn, then academic deficiencies can be made up.

 

[MechDiver]

Realizing that that the primary purpose of the divemaster course is to prepare someone for being an instructor, I think the experience level could be raised somewhat. However, the course, as with any scuba training, is what you make of it.

The DM card is also the same as an OW card. It allows you to learn how to be a DM, it doesn't really make you one.

Phil

 

[TCDiver1]

chickdiver once bubbled...
IMHO, I would prefer to actually dive with DM Candidates before admitting them to a course so that I may evaluate their skills in the "real world".

I try to do a half a dozen or so dives with Dm candidates before i'll accept them for training. You can tell a lot about a divers attitude and skill by diving with them.

For anyone who thought the Dm program was too easy, i submit to you that you were not taught what was intended to be taught via standards. I guess easy can be a pretty subjective term as what some people consider easy, others would consider hard.

In everything but some technique issues, IMHO, the Dm program is rather robust for an entry level diving leadership class, if taught as outlined. I've only trained or helped train a dozen or so Dm's but i have yet to have one complain the class is too easy. On the contrary, most end up whining about about how hard it is at one point or another.

JMO