PADI: How do I cancel my certification?

[oly5050user]

Way I see it is Dm and training agency had absolutely no other responsibility to this certified diver. The certified diver should know that in the case of a computer failure to end the dive immediately, its taught in a ow class and in the video and reading materials to plan your dive and dive your plan.Does not matter if you plan the dive via tables or computer.you are only responsible for yourself..Dm is there to guide a dive. Thats it..Unless you hire and pay a Dm to dive with you personally the DM leading a dive is blameless here.
As to the Dm diving a more aggressive profile, did he/she really or did he/she use nitrox that the op may not have ben using? Was the OP tagging along with the DM thinking it was ok to follow the DM even with a malfunctioning computer? Because of this I always discourage people from renting a computer as they never know when the last time a battery was changed or even get to read a manual on how to use it. Its a universal problem with renting any equipment, anywhere.

 

[mdax]

I understand what Jim is saying however I'm not sure those concepts are covered in training in much depth.
I don't believe that the relative dangers of diving are emphasized much at all, just that it's fun and you'll enjoy it, come buy more classes.
It would be nice if all padi training included a module on accident analysis, injuries that could happen and why dive professionals may sometimes steer you wrong and how to approach unsafe behaviors. I don't think this would ever get by padi marketing...

 

[oly5050user]

I understand what Jim is saying however I'm not sure those concepts are covered in training in much depth.
I don't believe that the relative dangers of diving are emphasized much at all, just that it's fun and you'll enjoy it, come buy more classes.
It would be nice if all padi training included a module on accident analysis, injuries that could happen and why dive professionals may sometimes steer you wrong and how to approach unsafe behaviors. I don't think this would ever get by padi marketing...

Sure dangers are conveyed to the prospective diver.
Module 1 covers lung expansion injuries in video-reading text,knowledge review homework and in classroom presentation for the module and during knowledge review in classroom. Module 3 has out of air examples and how to handle it by alt air use and cesas. Same goes for DCI in module 4 and 5..
Common sense also tells you that you are going into a environment that the possibility of drowning can occur. Also on forms student is to read and sign off on-"statement of understanding" and "liability release" at the start of any class explain dangers.

 

[lowviz]

You had a "come to Jesus" (God, Mohammed, Allah, ______) diving moment. Obviously you are now processing (and coming to terms with) this online. Get well, keep the card. -Very best.

 

[Drewpy]

I am with oly5050user on this...the op has no one to blame but him/her self. PADI or the DM bears no blame in this.
I am sorry you had to go through what you did however..

 

[flots am]

I wonder how much DAN or diveassure cost per year ? Would they have filled in the gap for the OP insurance exclusion.

AFAIK, DAN would have covered all or nearly all the out of pocket expenses. It's something like $75/year.

The OP is phenomenally lucky that he got bent somewhere cheap or close to home (not sure which). If it happened on a live-aboard way-far-out somewhere the bill could have been close to the price of a house, and without DAN, treatment might not have been available at all. If you pull out your "Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Delaware" card in most far away places, you'll discover that the only accepted insurance is "DAN or Visa".

I buy it for my wife and she doesn't even dive. You never know when a sea-urchin or coral scrape will turn into something nasty, or you'll break a leg on the boat ladder after snorkelling.

flots.

---------- Post added December 2nd, 2012 at 04:27 PM ----------

One should not look at an instructor you don't know as any more of an authority than the DM who is not the sharpest tack in the drawer. What do you think the instructor was before he was an instructor? Could have been that same DM you shouldn't trust. My students are told up front not to do anything I tell.them that gives them.pause. At least not without an explanation as to why. And if they are still uncomfortable it is perfectly ok to tell me to piss off. With the understanding that if standards require it they may not get a card.

In my ongoing effort to improve diver safety and offend people who need it, during the last or second-to-last class session, I explain an additional hand sign that is familiar, but not in the text for use when the DM seems to be out to lunch.

For example, when you signal to the DM that it's time for you to surface and he says "OK" and continues the dive, the next hand signal involves extending the middle finger and ascending with your buddy. Along with that, I explain that as early as yesterday, the DM's job could have involved phrases like "You want fries with that?" and that there's no reason to trust him with your life any more than any other random person on the street.

This is also useful when the DM wants you to follow him into some unknown dark hole in a rock or do anything that was listed in the textbook as "something to not do" or anything that makes the thought "Am I going to die out here" go through your head.

It's nice to kill off the misconceptions before the misconceptions kill off the diver.

flots.

 

[lowviz]

...//..."Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Delaware" card ...//... In my ongoing effort to improve diver safety and offend people who need it, ...//...

Wow! How did I overlook you in my training??? Seriously, we need to talk...

 

[fred3798]

Boy I hate to be all that is wrong with diving today. I have 75 dives now and feel pretty comfortable. Perhaps I am a slow learner, but at dive 25 I would not have been competent or confident to truly be independent and self-reliant. Certification does not begin to provide the experience necessary for true self-reliance. Moreover, the DMs clearly advertise based on providing divers a safe, guided trip. I randomly pulled this from a dive shop website:

"Our customized services attest that there is no reef
too far, no outing too early or late and no profile too aggressive as long as
established safety and redundancy parameters are met. If you are a beginner or an intermediate diver, you
will find we strive to provide customer satisfaction by utilizing our flexible
approach for matching divers to dive sites. It is our goal that by progressively taking divers on
more challenging dives they increase their level of proficiency. The end result
is divers with more confidence, competence and skill. In short safer divers."

That is not an ad that says "Only come to us if you are self-reliant as we will not be resposible for your safety during your dive". You cannot have it both ways. You can't promise safety for pay and then say its not your job when something goes wrong.

 

[flots am]

Boy I hate to be all that is wrong with diving today. I have 75 dives now and feel pretty comfortable. Perhaps I am a slow learner, but at dive 25 I would not have been competent or confident to truly be independent and self-reliant. Certification does not begin to provide the experience necessary for true self-reliance. Moreover, the DMs clearly advertise based on providing divers a safe, guided trip. I randomly pulled this from a dive shop website:

It's entirely possible that you'll get a competent DM. It's also entirely possible that you'll get one who isn't.

There's no way to tell which one you got, until you have a problem, and at that point, it's too late.

Also, even if he's the most awesome DM in the universe, if he's not nearby, he can't do anything for you anyway.

flots.

 

[Zieg]

"Our customized services attest that there is no reef
too far, no outing too early or late and no profile too aggressive as long as
established safety and redundancy parameters are met. If you are a beginner or an intermediate diver, you
will find we strive to provide customer satisfaction by utilizing our flexible
approach for matching divers to dive sites. It is our goal that by progressively taking divers on
more challenging dives they increase their level of proficiency. The end result
is divers with more confidence, competence and skill. In short safer divers."

But I don't see anywhere there that it states anything resembling "We will lead you by the hand and take responsibility for your ass."