not 1)
a step onwards from 2) lets assume they have all the skills associated with a certification
being a mentor/advisor on dive plans, diving with them, offering advise and discussing post dive issues.
to clarify - im asking what is the best way to help a fellow certified diver gain experience and help reduce their exposure to serious misshaps while their going through the experience curve ie passing on your knowledge and experience
Thank you for clarifying. I think this is perfectly reasonable. In a sense, that's what many of us doing Scubaboard every day, answering questions, and offering tips and advice. I'd love it if I had some kind of mentor myself, and do enjoy mentoring others.
If a diver was adequately trained in a course about a skill or type of diving, they should be able to safely perform those skills without assistance, and be aware of their limits. If there is any risk to that diver, I'd argue the instructor didn't do their job, or the diver is being careless.
Nobody should be "exposed to serious mishaps" at any point. This is true during a formal class, after one completes a class, or while being mentored.
If you don't know how to mentor some skill 100.0% safely, don't do it. If you really want to teach that skill, you can take courses which teach you to become a dive instructor, and those course should tell you how to teach various skills safely.
For example, in an Open Water class, students will practice skills around losing one's mask, out-of-air, and other similar common problems or emergencies one might face. That skill isn't taught by putting the student in an OOA situation, but instead it's simulated in a very safe and monitored environment.
