Too easy to become a DM??

[sheck33]

MechDiver once bubbled...


You're a DM, AI, have done deco classes, and you're not comfortable doing staged decompression? To me, that says more about your faith in your diving abilities than about the instruction you received.

First being an AI has little to do with decompression diving of course. But as far as DM and AI go, the 'instruction' i recieved i consider marginal at best. I am very confident in assisting with classes however because i have been diving a long time and the instruction i recieved prior to the DM / AI classes was excellent.

Regarding the TDI classes i did, advanced nitrox & decoprocedures. Advanced nitrox is theory rather than practice and presented no problem, that is a class you dont even NEED an instructor for. Decoprocedures however is a different thing. I do not think that the instruction recieved was sufficient to do this kind of diving safely. I apply GUE standards to my abilities and i do not believe I am at the required level. Faith in my diving abilities is not the problem but as opposed to others i am more realistic. I have seen 4 others get CERTIFIED in the same class and all i can say is i hope they wont simply kill themselves.
And i know my skills were far better than theirs.

I am a perfectionist as well, maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[chickdiver]

Good for you. It really takes guts to take a hard look at your knowledge and abilities and see them clearly. It takes something more to that to tell the world on a public forum. I have a sneaking suspicion that you are more talented knowledgeable than you think you are. I should know, I am on eof those perfectionists myself. Well done, for standing behind your decisions, though.:balloon:

 

[GTADiver]

Not so long ago when I did my Open Water course we were taught deco techniques. The club I was with actually did practice simulated deco dives which re-enforced the idea of staying within the no-deco limits (this is before the dive computer taking off).

I had over 500 logged dives before I took my dive master course. These dives included night, deep, wreck penetration, ice, salt and fresh water dives (etc). I never slaved as a store DM.

I get nervous when I see the "new breed" of divemaster with 60 logged dives to depths of up to 70 feet taking new divers to high current dives in 100' of water at a site they have not dove themselves. I listened to one new DM give a briefing which is better than some and he obviously did not know that the bow of the wreck was the "pointy end"

I realize there are some very competent new Dive Masters out there with lots of life skills, and a true understanding of the issues surrounding diving through good instruction and continuing their own self-educating but is this the norm? I would think not. I would suspect that a fair number of people on this board do more dives in one year than these Dive Masters will do in a ten year period.

I have been realy impressed with some of the replies in this thread. your the responsible divers and instructors.

 

[DiverBuoy]

GTADiver once bubbled...
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?

Anyone can argue about the number of dives, or the extent of the physics and physiology being inadequate, but where do you draw the line. Getting to DM is quite an investment in time - when you add up all the prerequisites, course materials, supplementary reading, dives, internship, demonstration quality skills, and focus on role-model attitude, actions, words and behavior etc. It's really a matter of extensive debate to call dive organizations on the minimum requirements. But even when you've achieved DM you're still just a diver who needs to keep diving.

Maybe the best gauge is a comparison to other sports training and or educational curriculums. Most junior colleges hand out a certificate for merely a couple hundred hours of classroom training and no real-world experience. Yet the certificate will get you a job <sheesh>.

If someone sits down and calculates all that is involved in getting to DM, the reading time, equipment setup, dive time, disassembly, maintenance, discussions, classroom time, etc. Then add up all the time and effort for all the prerequisite courses necessary to get to DM - OW, AOW, MFA or EFR, Rescue, day-long boat trips & shop time while interning, pool time etc., etc it comes out to hundreds and hundreds of hours. Hmmm I don't know in the end there are some really good newbie DMs and then there are some real doozies.

 

[AltonK]

I just finished my PADI DM, I started in april. I got my OW and AOW in '82. I think that a properly administrated internship program will produce a good DM at the descretion of a good instructor. However the Practical skills in lieu of internship fast track should be eliminated. This would get rid of the DM factories. If the required investment of time on the instructors part was such that he would only accept DM candidates he felt would help his operation during the intership, it would make it hard for certing DMs to become a profit center.

 

[DameDykker]

In the AI course I joined (mentioned perviousky in this thread) I have to follow an BOW and a RD course before my AI course and the a BOW and an AOW after. Furthermore, I'm given free admitace to all tours before and during just for helping out with rental equipment, dry suit intiation. Last time I went out under those conditions the tour went the same place as an AOW course. The course was three participants and the tour only had one. So when the course was doing navigation skills I helped as "an extra" body to make everything come out even. That was a lot of fun and we even had time for some eksploration in the area - since I was not doing the skills. During that we found his mask lost under the rescue skills from the first dive of the day. I rarely seen anybody that happy with a dive

So I'm really looking forward to the course(s) and I think it will not be to eacy. I just apoke with the two persons doing the last course (in October) and they both said it was rater tough.

Also I don't think the instructor at the AOW would have let me help if he didn't belive in my skills. He was the instructor doing my Emergency Response course this summer.

And by the way I had some 200 dives before I though I might be ready for the professionel road.

( Getting down now :box: )

 

[charmed]

and everything is too fast. I think people don't get enough experience like that, but it all depends also on the attitude

 

[Jester]

I'm seeing a great deal about diving skills and diving experience, but what about "Leadership." IMHO, leadership is every bit as important as diving skills, and if the DM is primarily going to be involved in OW classes, it may even be more important.

 

[fredk]

I have seen Divemasters and the only deep dive they have ever logged is the one done on their advanced course and now they are supposed to be able to lead certified divers on tours,scarey thought. Our store policy for DM 's to work here is they must have Dan oxygen provider course and at least basic nitrox course. They can't be expected to lead dives if diver's are diving enriched air and they don't have a clue what the different mixes do to bottom time or max depths. We make it clear right up front if you are doing a DM course and want to work for us you will have to take these courses at minimum and we package them accordingly.
If they don't like it they don't work here, I have seen to many unprepared DM's to accept anything less.

 

[DameDykker]

Welcome to the board Hoover (do you have good bouyancy skills )

What do you mean by Leadership? Is it the attitude you're talking about or something else??