Had my first student today

[berndo]

Yep, and some people even pushing that we're both lucky to have survived!

The way you called the thread wasn't great. You did not have a student. You're the student and were allowed by the instructor to show a couple of skills to another student. That's probably what really happened, right? Of course as a beginner with under 50 dives and as a DMT you can't have any studends or conduct any training.
If that instructor actually let's DMTs conduct full training dives, the instructor is a complete idiot. I kinda doubt that's what happened though.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

I don't have the time to respond to all of this as it is late right now and I have divers to take out tomorrow but I will respond in full after the dives.

I will say that the the OP is a DMT, not a DM therefore no skills should be shown to a student in an OWC. To say it is ok and shouldn't really matter is the definition of Normalization of Deviance. If you don't know what this is, I suggest the following links:

Human Factors in Diving
Doppler's Blog

 

[JRK44]

The way you called the thread wasn't great. You did not have a student. You're the student and were allowed by the instructor to show a couple of skills to another student. That's probably what really happened, right? Of course as a beginner at under 50 and as a DMT you can't have any studends or conduct any training.
If that instructor actually let's DMTs conduct full training dives, the instructor is a complete idiot. I kinda doubt that's what happened though.

I took the student from the briefing and beginning of the dive to the end under supervision.

I feel lucky to be alive.
We reached a depth of 2m and on reflection we should have used trimix to be safe.

 

[johndiver999]

You probably have zero experience is seeing people panic and bolt, have not seen anyone get killed diving or paralyzed --- yet. When some of those things happen around you, your perspective toward the whole venture may be quite different.

An instructor or DM is very vulnerable, even when doing everything right and following standards, go off the ranch and your azz is hanging in the wind.

BTW, is that a real OW training dive at a max depth of 6 feet? Does that count as a successful completion of an OW dive? I really don't know just curious?

 

[berndo]

I don't have the time to respond to all of this as it is late right now and I have divers to take out tomorrow but I will respond in full after the dives.

I will say that the the OP is a DMT, not a DM therefore no skills should be shown to a student in an OWC. To say it is ok and shouldn't really matter is the definition of Normalization of Deviance. If you don't know what this is, I suggest the following

I think you're reading alot of stuff into this that not there. The guy has 30 dives or whatever and got to tack alone in an OW class.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

I took the student from the briefing and beginning of the dive to the end under supervision.

I feel lucky to be alive.
We reached a depth of 2m and on reflection we should have used trimix to be safe.

Minimum depth for the dive is 5m so you didn't even meet the basic standards to consider it a training dive. Not to mention, as a DMT, you should not have been allowed to conduct ANY part of that dive. Your instructor failed both of the students on this dive, you as the DMT and the OW student.

I am really trying to help you see the issues here but you seem to think it is ok to break standards as long as no one got hurt.

Off to bed now

 

[L13]

This does not sound right. A DM trainee has no business leading an OW2 class. What agency was this under?

A DM should never be conducting skills in an OWC and certainly not a DMT.

I find both of these statements odd, since the PADI Instructor Manual specifically requires that DMT's perform all the specific actions that OP says he did under the supervision of the instructor:

I took her through her pre-dive safety checks and explained how a dive doesn't begin when you splash, but when you prepare your equipment, pack your gear and plan your dive(s).

See PADI Instructor manual pg 130 for DMT practical assessments:

1. Organize predive equipment setup by student divers. (one of the actions OP claimed to have done)
2. Coordinate student diver flow during training. (one of the actions OP claimed to have done)
3. (N/A in this case since there was only one OW student, hopeful done during a different OW class before becoming a DM)
4. Help a student diver overcome a learning difficulty.(one of the actions OP claimed to have done)
5. Respond to, or prevent student diver problems as they occur.(one of the actions OP claimed to have done)
6. Demonstrate a skill for student divers.(one of the actions OP claimed to have done)

@JRK44 did not claim to have done any actions outside of the above required actions for his training.

Note: there was only 1 OW student, the instructor was supervising the OW student and the DMT at all times.

How the hell is a DMT supposed to acquire the skills required of a DM if they don't do them during training?

 

[L13]

I will say that the the OP is a DMT, not a DM therefore no skills should be shown to a student in an OWC.

Per the PADI instructor manual (for DMT's), the DMT must perform skills for OWC!

Are you qualified to train DMT's for PADI? If so, review the training manual. If not, don't pontificate with such certainty on how it shouldn't be done. (that applies to me as well, I'm not qualified to train DMT's, so I shouldn't be that certain either, but I can read the training manual)

 

[Robert H. Diver]

.

 

[berndo]

I took the student from the briefing and beginning of the dive to the end under supervision.

I feel lucky to be alive.
We reached a depth of 2m and on reflection we should have used trimix to be safe.

OW2 should be deeper than 2m. I don't think you can count that as a training dive.
How many or of your 30 or 50 logged dives were in 2m, if you don't mind me asking.

If you've actually been doing a training dive and actually been in 2m of water for OW2, you're basically being scammed by your instructor. The OW student is also being scammed when she being trained by another beginner. Would you want be trained by you?