The PADI Rescue Diver Course

The PADI Rescue Diver course is an eye opener!

During the PADI Open Water Course you focused primarily on yourself and mastered knowledge and skills for taking care of yourself underwater and on the surface. In the Advanced Open Water course, your focus broadened to include the environment in a variety of situations. In the PADI Rescue Diver course you’re about to enter the next stage in which your focus broadens to include other divers and people around you.

The PADI Rescue Diver program prepares you to help prevent, and if necessary, manage dive emergencies, minor and major, with a variety of techniques. Your skills and confidence as a diver will be enhanced. Most certified Rescue Divers look back on their rescue training as one of the most challenging – sometimes demanding – and therefore most rewarding programs. The subject is serious but the training is fun.

PADI Rescue Diver Pre-requisites:

To enter the PADI Rescue Diver Course you need to be 15 years of age and a certified Advanced Open Water diver (Either PADI Certified or equivalent certification).

The PADI Rescue Diver course is divided into knowledge development and open water training. The knowledge development portion develops the principles and information you need for preventing and handling dive emergencies, with topics including self rescue, diver stress, diving first aid, emergency management and rescue and assistance procedures for both conscious and unconscious victims on the surface and underwater. Knowledge development is usually handled through self study using the rescue diver manual (supplied for you to keep with the course or intern fees) and the PADI Rescue Diver video and review sessions prior to open water training. Your instructor may decide to schedule more formal classroom sessions to cover the knowledge section. Very much like the Open Water course manual there are review quizzes at the end of each manual section for reinforced learning. At the end of the knowledge section there is also a final examination that will reinforce all of the topics learned within the course.

The general topics learned are:

1. Diver Self Rescue

2. Diver stress - the different forms of stress and their symptoms

3. Managing diver stress

4. First Aid Equipment

5. First aid procedures

In the first aid section you will learn a lot about the different types of diving injuries such as lung over expansion injuries, near drowning, decompression illness, decompression sickness (DCS) and marine life injuries.

1. Emergency management - Rescuer readiness, Equipment readiness

2. Information readiness

3. Common equipment problems

4. Equipment function

5. Release function and problems

6. Recognizing rescue situations

7. Rescuing the “responsive” diver at the surface

8. Rescuing the “responsive” diver underwater

9. Rescue exits to the boat or shore with the “responsive” diver

10. Missing diver procedures

11. Rescuing the “unresponsive” diver at the surface

12. Rescuing the “unresponsive” diver underwater

13. Equipment removal and exits to the boat or shore with the “unresponsive” scuba diver

All of the above knowledge learnt in the academic section of the course should at least prepare you mentally for the skills in the open water. The way that we like to run the course we have one day in the swimming pool covering the skills that the knowledge section prepares you for before entering the open water section.

During the open water training your diving instructor will demonstrate all of the skills learnt one more time with the use of a divemaster or qualified assistant. Once all of the skills have been practiced over and over you are ready for the final days training “live” scenarios – now this is where it all comes together (or not) and your rescue skills and knowledge are put to the test.

There are two final “live” scenarios that your instructor will spring on you during the last day – so be prepared!

Open Water Training Exercise scenario ONE: Underwater Search:

You shall at some stage be approached by a member of staff that indicates to you that he has lost their buddy. What are you going to do?

Open Water Training Exercise scenario TWO: Response, egress and management:

Now a diver suddenly disappears from the surface whilst calling for assistance. Again, what are you going to do?

I can give no more away than this but suffice to say or ask – what would you do if both happen at the same time? What if something else happens on the boat whilst you are in charge? You may get a surprise.

As a rescue diver you really need to be calm but alert and prepared at all times. Never again will you wonder why some divers insist on setting their equipment up even before the boat has left the harbor. Readiness is the key to saving the situation and in the worst case scenario lives also.

Next course: PADI Divemaster course (the first professional diving level)