Rescue vs. advanced

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rubixcube

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I have been considering the path which I will follow for my scuba education, I believe that I will complete First aid & CPR/rescue before taking advanced. My brother and father (both recently certified as well but with slightly more experience than me) seem to be of the opinion that the advanced would be a better next step (they also have yet to take any of these courses).

I have flipped through that thin and flimsy volume at my lds and...well it looks pretty pointless. It seems to be all about simply completing some slightly more challenging dives and not really about enhancing skills and knowledge. On the other hand the rescue cert seems more practical and useful, at least to me that is. I would of course not take these classes now, but rather wait until I have a good 20+ dives in.

I think to an extent they might be thinking of the immediate benefits of advanced (a greater variety of sites to dive). What do you all think? Is one more useful than the other? Is rescue something one should wait on taking? Is advanced more actually a better course than outward appearances?
 
A few of the larger instructional agencies require divers to successfully complete the Advanced Open Water Class prior to taking the Rescue Class...so you might not really have much freedom in determining the sequence. Talk this over with an instructor for your agency (NAUI?).

CPR/First Aid is typically a prerequisite for Rescue Class.

I'd recommend taking CPR/First Aid as soon as possible. (Frankly, I think people should take this even before basic OW class since it's so important.)
Then take Advanced (because your agency probably requires it before Rescue)...and eventually Rescue.

I've heard of some people say that their Advanced class was a joke. Mine was OK. The best part about it for me was meeting other students in the class who have become lifelong friends. YMMV. Rescue class, on the other hand, was definitely worthwhile in terms of developing mental preparedness and instilling confidence.

Hope this helps...
 
A few of the larger instructional agencies require divers to successfully complete the Advanced Open Water Class prior to taking the Rescue Class...so you might not really have much freedom in determining the sequence. Talk this over with an instructor for your agency (NAUI?).

CPR/First Aid is typically a prerequisite for Rescue Class.

I'd recommend taking CPR/First Aid as soon as possible. (Frankly, I think people should take this even before basic OW class since it's so important.)
Then take Advanced (because your agency probably requires it before Rescue)...and eventually Rescue.

I've heard of some people say that their Advanced class was a joke. Mine was OK. The best part about it for me was meeting other students in the class who have become lifelong friends. YMMV. Rescue class, on the other hand, was definitely worthwhile in terms of developing mental preparedness and instilling confidence.

Hope this helps...
Thanks for the reply! NAUI's site (and my LDS's site) only mentions a CPR/First aid prerequisite. In fact it seems only Masters requires advanced, but perhaps I'm mistaken.
 
NAUI will let you do Rescue and AOW in any order.

If you are being well mentored and are not jazzed with the AOW program being offered then by all means do rescue. Well taught it will do more to enhance your basic abilities as a diver.

AOW is about expanding your diving. rescue provides a lot of essentials that have been stripped from the basic course. It will do a lot more to advance your perspective as a diver too.

Pete
 
I may get blasted for this but AOW seems like a search for more money to me. Classes like boat diving, underwater photography etc... I dunno.

For full disclosure, I'm only O/W with 60-something dives.

I personally will go rescue when I can, I'll get the AOW to get it so I can go further, but I haven't really put much value in the AOW cert. I may at some point stand corrected.
 
I may get blasted for this but AOW seems like a search for more money to me. Classes like boat diving, underwater photography etc... I dunno.

For full disclosure, I'm only O/W with 60-something dives.

I personally will go rescue when I can, I'll get the AOW to get it so I can go further, but I haven't really put much value in the AOW cert. I may at some point stand corrected.

If you take your Rescue with NAUI you don't need the AOW prerequisite.

Your complaint about AOW is a common one ... and I always wince when I read comments from people who complain that they didn't get much out of their AOW. There are some AOW classes out there with some real meat to them ... but mostly they're run by independent instructors who have decided that they don't want to teach fluff.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
I have been considering the path which I will follow for my scuba education, I believe that I will complete First aid & CPR/rescue before taking advanced. My brother and father (both recently certified as well but with slightly more experience than me) seem to be of the opinion that the advanced would be a better next step (they also have yet to take any of these courses).

I have flipped through that thin and flimsy volume at my lds and...well it looks pretty pointless. It seems to be all about simply completing some slightly more challenging dives and not really about enhancing skills and knowledge. On the other hand the rescue cert seems more practical and useful, at least to me that is. I would of course not take these classes now, but rather wait until I have a good 20+ dives in.

I think to an extent they might be thinking of the immediate benefits of advanced (a greater variety of sites to dive). What do you all think? Is one more useful than the
other? Is rescue something one should wait on taking? Is advanced more actually a better course than outward appearances?
I think that the 2nd step should be instruction to optimize buoyancy, trim and propulsion, all criticals skills typically sadly lacking in the majority of AOW diver's, rescue diver's, and on up the ladder. These are the skills that will really begin to allow you to progress to become a "good diver".

Rescue should not be even considered until you have good buoyancy, trim and propulsion skills. Till that time, you really should be diving with other people who already have the good skills, and for them the rescue training would be smart to have.

YouTube - Great skill for u/w photographers..the Reverse Kick ! is a good example video of buoyancy trim and propulsion techniques you should be thinking about....while this video specifically covers GUE based training...FUNDIES or PRIMER, primer being the one for you....many of the major agencies are finally beginning to offer classes like Peak control buoyancy, and similar....it's the direction to check out.
 
Without making any comment about whether AOW is worth the money (because this is a whole other discussion that can, and has, filled other threads), I think you should think of AOW and Rescue as two completely different things. AOW is about diving skills and techniques. Rescue is not really about "normal diving" very much at all. It is about problem recognition, stress management, and emergency procedures. For my 2psi, I think it is much more valuable than AOW and everyone who dives should take it as soon as is practical. But then again, I think everyone who goes out in public should take CPR.
 
I think that the 2nd step should be instruction to optimize buoyancy, trim and propulsion, all criticals skills typically sadly lacking in the majority of AOW diver's, rescue diver's, and on up the ladder. These are the skills that will really begin to allow you to progress to become a "good diver".

Rescue should not be even considered until you have good buoyancy, trim and propulsion skills. Till that time, you really should be diving with other people who already have the good skills, and for them the rescue training would be smart to have.

YouTube - Great skill for u/w photographers..the Reverse Kick ! is a good example video of buoyancy trim and propulsion techniques you should be thinking about....while this video specifically covers GUE based training...FUNDIES or PRIMER, primer being the one for you....many of the major agencies are finally beginning to offer classes like Peak control buoyancy, and similar....it's the direction to check out.

I'm gonna disagree with ya a bit here, Dan. Trim and propulsion are important skills, for sure ... but I don't think they're either necessary for the rescue class, nor more important. They are completely different goals.

A properly taught Rescue class is as much about what goes on inside your head as it is about what goes on with your body ... or your buddy. Most diving accidents occur because either the diver made poor decisions (often during the planning stages of the dive) or because they didn't recognize the signs of an impending incident until the incident occurred. A properly taught Rescue class is as much about learning how to keep yourself out of trouble as it is about reacting to a situation once you're in trouble. It provides you with a perspective on the kinds of decisions that lead to problems, and teaches you how to avoid them.

This is valuable knowledge at ALL levels of diving, and it's never too early to start learning it.

It is true that the more skilled you are with your buoyancy control, trim and propulsion, the more ability you will have to deal with issues before they become problems requiring a rescue response. But focusing on those skills first leaves you without essential knowledge that can help keep you out of those situations in the first place.

A back kick is valuable ... but it's way down on my list of essential skills for the new diver. Rescue training is up near the top of that list. Among other things, it reduces the risk of putting yourself in a "trust me" situation with a more experienced diver who may make assumptions that you're not equipped to deal with.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
I will add...Many places may not allow you to do certain dives without having a minimum of ADV. regardless of your dive experience. They may require you to do a checkout dive to show that you are a competent diver....That being said it does not mean you are a bad diver. It goes to Liability...that is a whole other discussion.

ADV and Rescue should be done regardless of agency. You will benefit from both. Especially Rescue. It will teach you the basics but you will only get out of it what you put into it. This goes with out saying for any course you will take in the future.

Your instructor is key here. A good instructor will go a long way. You are only as good as the teacher that teaches you.
 
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