At what point in a diver's training should they be able to rescue their buddy (unconsious diver at depth, panicky diver at the surface)?
Ideally, rescue skills should be introduced as early as possible, but not so as to overload a diver as they develop.
The main benefit of specific training in rescue techniques is to minimise the risk to the rescuer. A secondary benefit is that the rescuer is given knowledge and experience that should increase the speed of rescue, via the reduction of required problem solving and options to be considered.
Thus, rescue training gives a
quicker and
safer rescue - but it does not mean that an un-trained diver would be unable to provide a rescue
without that training....as some contributors to this thread seem to have assumed.
Do you feel that these skills should be part of the OW course? AOW? or should they wait until the diver is ready for Rescue Diver training?
The OW
does have a fair amount of rescue & self-rescue skills embedded within it. Techniques such as CESA, OOA Ascent, Buddy Tows are examples. Some rescue theory is also introduced in the classroom; i.e. questions about prioritization of actions needed for unconsious divers at the surface.
The OW course also, importantly, deals with the necessity for good buddy procedures - which IMHO is the bedrock of rescue capability, as prevention and/or early intervention is
far more important than highly technical rescue skills for an incident that has been allowed to progress into a major emergency.
I think that most scuba agencies expect that a well-trained OW diver would use this limited information, coupled with common sense and judgement, to keep their buddy safe in the event of an incident. Most divers would
guess that they
should bring their unconsious buddy to the surface ASAP. Humans, of even the lowest IQ, tend to understand that not breathing is a bad thing!
The AOW course is sadly lacking in rescue skills development. I firmly believe that this course should introduce new elements of rescue and self-rescue as a 'bridge' to the full Rescue Diver course.
If the OW course introduced 'basic' rescue skills, then the AOW course should contain 'intermediate' skills, before the Rescue Course developed 'advanced' skills.
The requirement for CPR training is another issue. AED operation is another. O2 provision is another. Whilst not specifically 'scuba rescue' skills, the ability to support casualty life function, pending medical resucitation, is invaluable for any diver. That said, it would be beneficial for any hobbiest, sportsperson, motorist etc etc.
I think CPR should be more strongly 'encouraged' from OW course onwards. AED and O2 should be required for rescue courses.
How do you feel about being buddied up with a diver who can't perform a basic rescue if you get into trouble?
As I've said before... I wouldn't assume that any diver
couldn't perform a basic rescue, just because they hadn't attended a specific training course.
Neither would I assume that they
could be trusted to rescue me, just because they had a rescue cert card!
As a scuba instructor, I am used to being in the water with untrained divers on a daily basis. I rarely had Divemaster support when teaching, so I swiftly developed a mindset that I shouldn't
rely on any external assistance in the event of an emergency. I had to be confident of my self-rescue capacity. I had to plan and conduct those diving activities with an appropriate risk assessment based on the fact that I was unsupported.
Having developed that mindset, I now don't really have any problems with being buddied with novice divers who are (on paper) unreliable for rescue.
Have you performed a rescue while diving? If so, were you trained to do so?
Yes, many times.
My first 'proper' rescue was the recovery and resucitation of an unconsious diver at the surface. This happened on my Divemaster course, so I benefitted from having the training 'fresh' in my mind. Even then, the rescue was not textbook - more instinctive than methodical. Having said that, the casualty survived, regained consiousness out of the water, was evacuated by helicopter to hospital and recovered. He was a huge 300lb+ guy...so that gave me a lot of confidence.
Since then, I've dealt with literally hundreds of incidents that required some form of 'rescue' intervention: panicked divers (surface and underwater), bolters, OOA, low on air, vomiters, severe narcosis (inside a silted out wreck!), exhausted divers, DCI hits etc etc I've rescued a few drowning swimmers and snorkellers too.
Did I have training to do those things? Technically, yes I did. However, every scenario was very different and far from the 'textbook' scenarios I encountered on training courses.
The most important aspect with my effective rescue interventions was having the confidence to 'act'... to take responsibility and get involved. This is closely followed by the capacity to keep a cool mind and avoid panic. Only then can you effectively problem solve and react effectively. The specific rescue techniques utilised were of much less importance than that.