Commercial medicals for instructors.

[Warhammer]

Guess I'm kinda inbetween on this one. If governmental standards improve the quality of training then that would be good. But if it makes the standards so high that alot of people can't achieve them, then that's bad. And usually whenever the government, US anyway, gets involved they find a way to screw it up. I'm all for making sure that all newly certified divers are safe for the enviroment that they dive in, but I'm against making the courses so strenous that only the athletic type achieve certification. I also think that instructors should feel confident about each students abilities, and require further training if needed, before certifing any student. Too many simply go through the motions and sign the PIC at the end of the class. Course I also think they should be compensated for that extra training, maybe giving an estimate for a class would be better than a definate price that suggests everyone in the class will progress at the same pace, which they won't.

 

[greg somers]

Warhammer,
Interesting name.Enlighten me sometime.Mate,the real issue is not govt.regulating the industry.Where they are responsible for is health,defence,welfare etc...Basically it's area of interest.That's what we expect from them.They are not experts in the dive industry and therefore are not qualified to set minimum standards without input by the local dive councils from each training organisation,ie Naui,Padi,SSI etc... They are saying that all instructors must have Commercial medicals,not the general diver.But the problem is that the instructor does not work in the realm of the industrial commercial diver.As I said before that changes a $60.00 medical plus chest x-rays at $72.00 into a $500.00
medical and a journey to the local Hyperbaric chamber which in my case is the Devonport Naval Base over 160kms away.
Essentially if the instructor has no congenital problems and has a reasonable level of fitness and have been regularly diving and reached industry standards then why go through the extra expense.Exactly what is the differece between a medical as described above and the commercial medical?Just more x-rays,money and time.That means an instructor must pay organisational fees,medical costs and the costs of upgrading and further training just to work.I
have only met 1 dick-head instructor and that was more personality rather than poorly trained.We are a rather level headed bunch and we feel the responsibility of training novices to dive safely.I think it is the wrong way to go.The money doesn't go back into the industry and doesn't benefit it in any tangible way.Commercial divers earn far more than recreational instructors and they take the risks conversant with it.We are expected to do it on far less resources.Some dive shops will pay but not all instructors work in shops.Do you get the point?
It's not about minimum standards for the industry but unneeded expense in an already costly industry when it is not necessary.Hope that helps.Gasman.