Snuff
Registered
I will try to keep my story brief. This summer, my 16 year old son wanted to get his OW certification. We scheduled a PADI class for him during a vacation that we were taking to Florida. He purchased the books to study at home, then was supposed to take the class Fri thru Sun. When he filled out his student information sheet that was in the book, he checked that he had sustained a head injury in the past. Neither his mother nor I looked at that sheet, otherwise, we probably would have known to bring a doctors release.
The head injury that he sustained was a mild concussion slightly over 3 years ago from a fall off of his bike. He was kept overnight in the hospital for observation then sent home. When we went back for a followup visit, he was given a full release that stated that he could "participate in all normal activities". The doctor said we didn't need to see him anymore, and we have never had any other issues.
About 2 hours after dropping my son off for the class, we got the phone call that he could not participate in the pool portion of the class until we brought in a release. I was able to contact the doctors office, who faxed a copy of the original, 3 year old release to the dive center. We went to the dive center to ensure that everything was good, and we were told "This is exactly what I needed, he is fine to finish the class". Then we received another phone call about an hour after leaving, informing us that he needed a more recent physical and a release from a doctor stating specifically that he could participate in SCUBA activities. He told me that SCUBA is not a "normal activity" and that the release was too old anyways. After much arguing, I realized that I wasn't going to win the argument. Needless to say, he was not able to finish the class. Another member of the class was apparently removed for not having a physical following a broken arm!!!
So, my question is, was this particular instructor just being a jerk, or was he following PADI rules? If he was following PADI rules, then my suggestion to him is to make sure that ALL PAPERWORK IS IN PROPER ORDER PRIOR TO STARTING THE CLASS!!! If you think you're responsible enough to take non-divers and turn them into divers, then you should be responsible enough to check such mundane things as dates on paperwork, and whether certain boxes on a student form are checked or not.
My question to PADI is, assuming the instructor was telling my the truth, how come you require recent physicals when the doctor told us there was no reason to come back to his office? My argument to the instructor was that I could weigh 400 pounds, with veins popping out of my neck, and ready to have a heart attack, and if I don't put a mark in a box that I have any physical issues with the class, they will take my word for it, but when a healthy 16 year old boy comes into the class with a 3+ year old injury, and a doctors release, all of the sudden he needs more physicals to prove that he's physically capable of handling the class. He said "Thats just the way it is... if he hadn't put a mark in that box, then I wouldn't need to worry about it". According to the instructor, diving is not a "normal physical activity", so why doesn't PADI require physicals for EVERYONE entering the class them???
I'm really not sure if this is bad policy on PADI's part, or bad business on the shop's part, or just a moron instructor who can't get his stuff together. I'm actually relieved that he wasn't in this guys class. If he's no more competent than this, I'm not sure I want my son in his class!
The head injury that he sustained was a mild concussion slightly over 3 years ago from a fall off of his bike. He was kept overnight in the hospital for observation then sent home. When we went back for a followup visit, he was given a full release that stated that he could "participate in all normal activities". The doctor said we didn't need to see him anymore, and we have never had any other issues.
About 2 hours after dropping my son off for the class, we got the phone call that he could not participate in the pool portion of the class until we brought in a release. I was able to contact the doctors office, who faxed a copy of the original, 3 year old release to the dive center. We went to the dive center to ensure that everything was good, and we were told "This is exactly what I needed, he is fine to finish the class". Then we received another phone call about an hour after leaving, informing us that he needed a more recent physical and a release from a doctor stating specifically that he could participate in SCUBA activities. He told me that SCUBA is not a "normal activity" and that the release was too old anyways. After much arguing, I realized that I wasn't going to win the argument. Needless to say, he was not able to finish the class. Another member of the class was apparently removed for not having a physical following a broken arm!!!
So, my question is, was this particular instructor just being a jerk, or was he following PADI rules? If he was following PADI rules, then my suggestion to him is to make sure that ALL PAPERWORK IS IN PROPER ORDER PRIOR TO STARTING THE CLASS!!! If you think you're responsible enough to take non-divers and turn them into divers, then you should be responsible enough to check such mundane things as dates on paperwork, and whether certain boxes on a student form are checked or not.
My question to PADI is, assuming the instructor was telling my the truth, how come you require recent physicals when the doctor told us there was no reason to come back to his office? My argument to the instructor was that I could weigh 400 pounds, with veins popping out of my neck, and ready to have a heart attack, and if I don't put a mark in a box that I have any physical issues with the class, they will take my word for it, but when a healthy 16 year old boy comes into the class with a 3+ year old injury, and a doctors release, all of the sudden he needs more physicals to prove that he's physically capable of handling the class. He said "Thats just the way it is... if he hadn't put a mark in that box, then I wouldn't need to worry about it". According to the instructor, diving is not a "normal physical activity", so why doesn't PADI require physicals for EVERYONE entering the class them???
I'm really not sure if this is bad policy on PADI's part, or bad business on the shop's part, or just a moron instructor who can't get his stuff together. I'm actually relieved that he wasn't in this guys class. If he's no more competent than this, I'm not sure I want my son in his class!