Just how 'real' should a rescue scenario be?

[ReefHound]

Yes they do. Realistic training produces someone who can react in real situations.

No, they don't.

 

[ReefHound]

Realism in simulation vs. perception of reality are different. I have over 2000 hours flying Navy fighters, off of aircraft carriers. Training for emergencies was the better part of my adult life. I never once was tricked into thinking a situation was real. It was briefed as a simulation or training event every single time. In my new job we have active shooter drills. Can you imagine if someone didn't know it was drill? I can guarantee either someone would get hurt, or the authorities would be called which would result in guns drawn and somebody shot. You can make things real enough to simulate an actual emergency and achieve good training, without crossing a line, degrading from actual learning or putting students or staff in danger.

Exactly. As I said before, scuba is the only area I know where instructors sit around and dream up ways to trick the student into thinking it's not training anymore but somehow turned into the real thing. And I think it's more for their own amusement than anything else. It really seems rather juvenile to me.

 

[Skb]

Exactly. As I said before, scuba is the only area I know where instructors sit around and dream up ways to trick the student into thinking it's not training anymore but somehow turned into the real thing. And I think it's more for their own amusement than anything else. It really seems rather juvenile to me.

Realistic scenarios are different from tricking students. The students should know it’s training but It should be as real as possible.

 

[shoredivr]

Realism in simulation vs. perception of reality are different. I have over 2000 hours flying Navy fighters, off of aircraft carriers. Training for emergencies was the better part of my adult life. I never once was tricked into thinking a situation was real. It was briefed as a simulation or training event every single time. In my new job we have active shooter drills. Can you imagine if someone didn't know it was drill? I can guarantee either someone would get hurt, or the authorities would be called which would result in guns drawn and somebody shot. You can make things real enough to simulate an actual emergency and achieve good training, without crossing a line, degrading from actual learning or putting students or staff in danger.

I cannot like this enough!!

 

[TMHeimer]

Exactly. As I said before, scuba is the only area I know where instructors sit around and dream up ways to trick the student into thinking it's not training anymore but somehow turned into the real thing. And I think it's more for their own amusement than anything else. It really seems rather juvenile to me.

My instructor for Rescue didn't do this, but I'd figure you are correct about some instructors. Either way, as I've often said, I have no way of knowing how I'd react since I've not yet experienced a real emergency. I did a brief tired diver tow once.

 

[KevinNM]

Do militaries train soldiers by conducting a training attack on a base that seems to be the real thing? Do police academies train officers by making them think they are in an actual shootout with armed robbers? Are pilots trained in an actual plane by simulating a hijacking or loss of engines? I can't think of anything other than scuba where training for emergencies is done by tricking the student into thinking it's an actual emergency.

In a lot of these the fact that you are being observed by your boss and a bad evaluation gets you fired adds a bunch of stress. But the way good PDs train is with routine calls that sometimes go sideways. Its a lot easier to do this with a dozen trained roleplayers and a dedicated control staff. But i have book that has dozens of pages of the names, dates and circumstances of officers or roleplayers who got killed in these sorts of training evolutions.