OW, Advanced, Rescue in 3 weeks

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I agree with jamesr that ow-aow-rescure is not really...zero to hero. But a SLower pace might be better. Its all about how much u can absorb and how comfortable u are.

Do till aow.., then see how comfortable you are with diving. If not., dive some more before doing rescue.
 
I don't think taking aow & rescue right after open water deserves a "zero to hero" label...

I agree 100%.

Once upon a time, initial scuba diving training was very comprehensive and included progressive experience dives and rescue techniques from the start. Some agencies still do it that way. The demand to increase 'appeal' through added convenience and economy saw the training sub-divided into smaller and smaller modular chunks. It seems that some of us have forgotten what a fully trained scuba diver should represent... and now see those modular chunks as some exaggerated representation of 'advanced' diving. They aren't...

I believe that OW, AOW and Rescue represent the complete culmination of basic scuba training. There should be no false barriers between those levels, nor should divers ever be discouraged from engaging in any of those training courses.

There should be no restrictions to immediate progression from course to course. This assumes that each course is properly taught and that graduation only occurs at each level when the student unequivocally achieves the specified standards of "mastery". A properly trained open water diver should find no issues progressing directly to advanced open water. Likewise, a properly taught and developed advanced open water diver should be more than ready for an immediate step to rescue training.

Expressing disbelief or objections to immediate progression between these three courses is nothing more than an acceptance of sub-standard training. Sadly, this is the state of the dive industry nowadays... and low expectations have become the (near) universal norm. It's heart-breaking..
 
I agree that frankly all three are in fact what any diver should learn. My only concern is just pure overload on your part.
You may very well find missing vital information because you are still absorbing information in your head let alone having a "body memory" or if you want an instinctive reaction in the correct way.
"diver instincts" are so contrary to "normal" instincts that when the brown smelly stuff hits the whirling blades its really easy to revert to normal world instincts. Being totally blunt (apologies if I'm being too blunt) this can get you killed.
Even simple stuff like decent boyancy control and an idea of what is correct weighting for you and your rig doesn't happen instantly.
NOT FOR A SECOND am I saying don't go for it. But just take the time to absorb and understand what you are being told.
 
Do it. It's like asking if it's OK to take Intro to Mathematics, Algebra I, and Algebra II in consecutive semesters.
 
Take the classes, study hard and pass well. Then look back and ask yourself if you remember all the material you just learned. Just cause you have a card doesn't mean you know your stuff, so you may have to do some additional self study to review and keep it fresh. Its a lot of material and I think that's why its been cut up into more digestible chunks. For me, the chunk method works good and allows me to ingrain and get comfortable with what I just learned, then move on when it feels natural. I'm not a firehose learner. YMMV
 
I agree that a lot of us think OW/AOW/Rescue is really what a basic diving education ought to be. If you can get all that done, and realize that, at the end of it, you are educated well but still lacking in experience, I think you'll be in great shape.

TSandM, I couldn't agree more with your first sentence. DevonDiver says essentaially the same thing above. My greater concern is with the premise of your second sentence. People disagree with calling this "zero to hero" - ok, call it "artificially heightened sense of capacity". Or just call it instant gratification. Look, I'm by no means an expert. I've only been diving for 4 years, and I have a great deal more to learn. But I have seen far too many self-proclaimed, and duly certified, "rescue divers" who were a menace to themselves and everyone around them.

Who do we blame? The certification agency? I've read enough to know that you more experienced divers are correct - there was a time when initial training was much more rigorous - when OW/AOW/Rescue were not broken down into bite sized, easy to swallow little pieces. But that was also a time when diving was much more of a "fringe" activity, with far fewer participants, a far steeper learning curve, and much less of a profit motive.

But I can't just blame a corporate profit motive - that is unrealistic. More fundamentally, I see it as a social issue. We are faced with a generation that has no idea what it is to hear "no". Where there are no losers, where everyone always received a trophy for just showing up, and where far too many have an unrealistic sense of infallibility and entitlement.

So, my concern is not in the least with the diver who wants to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible while maintaining a realistic sense of their capabilities - I'm one of those, and I know I have a lot more to learn. I'm far more concerned about those who have convinced themselves, with the willing cooperation of a certification agency that awards the "trophy", that they are now a true blue, bullet-proof "rescue diver" or, just as silly, a "Master Diver". That person worries me - and I can only hope that, if I'm there and the need arises, I can help rescue him when the inevitable occurs.
 
Other agencies combine Rescue skills with their basic courses. PADI choose not to and have it as entirely separate course. (I really don't count tired diver tow and cramp removal as comprehensive rescue skills in the OW course).

What you learn in the Rescue course is a lot of common sense (rarer than rocking-horse s**t these days). You're taught to co-ordinate rescues, preferably without even getting in the water. Most of the actual skills are done on the surface. So the only real question is are you physically capable of taking the course? I've had a student throw up after lifting a student onto a pontoon because it was too much for him. If you are capable of performing multiple tired diver exits over the course of 3 days then you are ready for the course.

This is not a case of Zero to Hero. Everyone should have rescue skills as part of their diving toolbox. PADI have even removed the need to be an Advanced Diver in order to take the course. Mainly because you don't need to be certified to 30m in order to save someone on the surface.
 
I took my initial training from NAUI in the early 70's, then had a 35 year SI. Basically starting over in September of 2011, I re-certified with my new diver wife through PADI. Since then I've trained up through Rescue, and am currently working on DM, with 78 dives currently logged.

My fuzzy memories of the NAUI training indicate the training was more rigorous, and included much more in-depth training than the current PADI curriculum. We could argue ad nauseum which concept is better. The facts are diver safety continues to improve.

I personally think going straight through to AOW is not problematic at all. Immediately taking Rescue may, or may not be in your best interest. Your grasp of the previous training up to AOW, and ability to utilize that training would be key in determining the advisability of quickly progressing through Rescue.

The one point no one has mentioned is the quality of the training. As a new diver you don't have the ability to evaluate how well the material is being taught. Any course is only as good as the instructor. If the instruction is through a "C-Card mill", you'll have wasted your money and time. More critically you won't be a safe diver, let alone be competent to help others. Take some time to research the quality of the offered training. Certification agency ratings (PADI 5 Star or whatever) is not necessarily an indicator of the quality of the training.The program you're being offered is pretty inexpensive. Be careful.
 
I'm just curious -- those of you who are saying that Rescue should be postponed, what is your rationale for saying that? The Rescue class really doesn't involve a great deal of diving per se. It's mostly practicing emergency skills and learning ideas and techniques for getting distressed divers to the surface and out of the water. What does the student need to have learned from a certain number of dives of experience in order to do this class?
 
Just My Opinion, but I just don't see how any real level of competence can be developed in a "0" diver going through OW, AOW, and Advanced Rescue in three weeks. I am a NAUI Instructor, and we teach rescue skills (surface rescue and unconscious diver rescue) in our Scuba Diver Course (Every NAUI Scuba Diver is an OW diver). But very few basic scuba divers have the skills or confidence to move on to anything but Nitrox without a good deal of expirence. I usually like to see that a diver has logged 25 dives or so before moving on to AOW. I personnaly believe that the proper progression for a new diver is OW, Nitrox, Basic Rescue, and then AOW. I believe in continuing education for all divers, I've been diving for more than 50 years and don't know it all. But what I do know is that what makes divers good and safe in the water is time and practice. The "Program" our new friend describes I doubt will result in much more that a nice fellow with a lot of certs, and not many solid skills.
 
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