PADI Rescue Diver course advice

[cayal]

Hello, me again.

I am doing my PADI Rescue Diver course soon and I was wondering if those who have done it before could pass on some advice on what to expect and how to prepare for it?

I haven't gotten the reading material or anything yet but I am doing a little research on the subject and see that it can be mentally and physically draining. I guess my main question is, did you find it difficult, hard or was it just something that was so constant over the course of how many days you did it that you felt emotionally wrecked at the end of it?

Is it possible, or should I say, easy to fail? Did you know of people who have failed it?

Also, how do they simulate some accidents, such as a stressed diver or lost diver or unconscious diver? Obviously these people are not actually stressed\lost\unconscious, but how do they do it in a safe way while still simulation their predicament?

Thanks

 

[decompression]

Congrats on signing up for the course, one of the most challenging and rewarding courses you can do. The instructor will put you into increasingly more challenging situations but will give you all the tools and techniques you need. You just have to decide which is most appropriate. I had a very small lady on one of my courses and she was able to move a 200lb man around with little effort. It's all in the technique. Over the years I havent had any "failures", it's a course where there really is no "one way to do it". It teaches you to analyse the situation and pick the best way to resolve it. There will be several scenarios in which you will have to utilize your new skills, search and recovery, unconscious diver etc. Your instructor will use a combination of objects/ simulated "victims" to lend some reality to the situation. Good luck and enjoy your new found skills and confidence!

 

[mblazer]

+1 on what decompression said. I've been diving for some time, and am 55 years old. I had not really considered rescue, but my son (who is 24) got into diving last year and we decided to do it together. We had a blast, and it was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I've ever done -- either individually or as a father/son thing. For what it's worth, my "victim" for our final exercise is a 6 foot 6 inch, 260 pound gigantor of a fireman. The point he made before we did any of our exercises, as decompression points out, is that there is no one "right" way -- whatever works, so long as you and the victim end up safe. One of the most important things you need to do is not psyche yourself out -- as you seem to be doing -- even before you read the materials or watch the video. Rescue is, in my opinion (and I believe you'll also get this from your instructor), first and foremost about making sure you don't also become a victim in a rescue situation. It helps you become a better diver and, in the course of that, gain greater confidence in your ability to help others. With that being said, my bigger concern is the number of dives you indicate in your profile. I would urge you to get more dives under your belt, in all kinds of situations, before you think about the rescue course. There is no mandatory minimum that I'm aware of, other than AOW, but experience is a must.

 

[Montana Diver]

My course involved observing and critiquing the OW class. During the practical portion, several divers were instructed to create distractions or set up equipment incorrectly. During our orientation dive, my buddy bolted on me. It was my responsibility to get him bask under control. I hated the search and recovery, took me 26 minutes to find the weight bag. Mine was the farthest one out. Great class, I was allowed to learn more technical aspects of the shop, cylinder VIP, observed regulator rebuilds and replaced drysuit seals was allowed as part of the course. I have a new respect for the Buddy program after completing the course.

The only part I felt was inadequate was the first aid. I was a National Ski Patrol member for 25+ years. Upon completion of the Rescue course, I became an alumni member of NSP so I could take their first aid course. The 90+ hour course is overkill for Rescue, but it reminded me of the importance of greater knowledge, similar to the reason I chose to become a Rescue diver. Hopefully I will never need to demonstrate my skills, however I am very confident I could handle most dive emergencies. As a past instructor, I taught the water safety portion of the class. This allowed me the opportunity to educate non-divers to the various maladies they might find if they visit a dive area.

Great Class for me, well worth them time and energy. It has made me a better diver. I don't get on a boat wondering if I am the worst diver on the boat. It also developed my skills to try and make that worst diver not do something that might injure themselves.

Dennis

 

[cayal]

Thanks for the replies, it's nice to get different perspectives on the course.

I thought my number of dives was a concern but there isn't (as far as I know) a limit on dives you must have to do it so I guess it's a case-by-case basis on experience and how you are as a diver.

As far as I understand it, the key point is to make sure you are in a safe position before dealing the diver in trouble.

 

[TSandM]

Rescue is an excellent class. Some of it is about how to think about things to AVOID being involved in a rescue situation; part of it is how to execute a rescue safely. It is physically demanding, because you get in and out of gear repeatedly, and you tow folks and attempt to carry them (I was not very successful with this part, myself). It is within the scope of most normally fit people.

And as someone who gets to play "victim" for my husband's Rescue classes, I would say that yes, the scenario is set up so the victim is safe. The worst part about being the victim is trying to get the sand out of your ears afterwards . . .

 

[k ellis]

Rescue is more difficult looking forward and anticipating it then it is in the actual course. Just study the material and when you do role play listen to what the instructor tells you. Youll realize its simple in all actuality but the lessons learned are eternal!

 

[Damselfish]

It is possible to fail - I know of one person failing PADI rescue, but they were very heavy and unfit, and wound up needing to be rescued themselves. But while the course is challenging, it's not set up for people to fail and I'd say that was pretty unusual circumstances. Even so, I'd guess they learned plenty from the class.

 

[RickyF]

As previously stated, Rescue is the most rewarding class I have taken. The concern with your number of dives is that you really need to be totally comfortable underwater and you need to have really good bouyancy skills. Some of the course requires you to be able to position yourself in such a way that you can control a stressed diver and not become a victim yourself. This is where having good bouyancy skills is important. Being able to multi-task such as being able to bring a unresponsive diver to the surface using their BCD and removing their weight belt and BCD at the same time your towing them to the "boat" means you need to be totally comfotable with your skills.

 

[cayal]

I think what I will do is enroll for the course as my dive shop has a special on it where I can save money. I have until March next year to do it (I believe) so I will sign up and go over the material and then do the course when I am ready to go closer to summer.