First Responder Certification????

[fshbreath]

Having taken the LDS 1st responder class several years ago, I am now faced with wanting to take rescue diver class that requires a recent cert. .I do not see the purpose of retaking the same classes, a refresher is suggested but not offered loacally. What is the required 1st responder certification ?? When I took it thru padi facility the card came from Emergency First Response Corp. but I see local Red Cross classes that are much cheaper that seem the same level of training. Local dive shops seem to have the policy of pay us or else, is there a difference in the actual training? Is there an Industry standard for first responder training? or does every local dive shop institute there own standard?

 

[tursiops]

In the Instructor Manual (IM) section for the Rescue class, PADI states that EFR Primary and Secondary Care training within the last 24 months is a student prerequisite.
In the General Standards and Procedures of the IM, PADI expands on "prerequiste certifications" and explicitly says when EFR is the prereq, what you need is proof of CPR training and first aid training. In the PADI Training Bulletin, 4Q2011, it is stated that online CPR and First Aid certifications do NOT meet the prereq for Rescue (or DM or AI) because there must be student skill practice and demonstration with a qualified instructor.

So the short answer to your question is Yes, a Red Cross class that covers CPR and First Aid is a satisfactory prereq, if it had hands-on skills practice.

But...as you point out....a LDS does whatever it wants. They may think or assert EFR is required, but it is not. Find another LDS.

 

[TMHeimer]

St. John Ambulance CPR certification here in Canada is much more comprehensive (a full day long as opposed to 3-4 hours) than EFR. To continue on to Rescue our shop allows doing CPR with outside agencies (as long as they are recognized as legit). Like with EFR, everybody passes. I often wonder how many of the students regularly review the information in the manuals. St. John also has a half day "review", but you can only do this once before having to take the full course next time. Their certification is good for 3 years as oppose to 2 with EFR and their course fee is a little less.