PADI - Rescue Diver

[darylm74]

I am signed up to take the rescue diver class through my LDS which is a PADI shop. For some reason I am extremely nervous though I've done AOW, Nitrox, Ice and Drysuit through them. I see this as a huge step in the direction that I want to take (to be an instructor and beyond). My best friend is the general manager of the shop and is teaching it tells me that I am studying more than anyone he knows for this class and that I have nothing to worry about but I consider his opinion subjective and I would like a more objective opinion. Do any of you have any hints for things that perhaps were not explained well in the book/movie or any other possible hints for things that I need to pay attention to. I am not sure why I am so parnoid about this particular class, but I am. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Daryl

 

[Jim Ernst]

hey bud this is an easy class, and if done well is very informative, i enjoyed the class and am an EMT and yet it still had a lot of great info, you will do just fine as i said it is not a tough class, hang in there and enjoy yourself

 

[D_B]

If your not in shape ... It's going to be hard work
Other than that , it was fun, informative, confidence building, and personally satisfying to pass it

DB

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I found it to be a really fun and useful class. I'm very glad I did it.

Now for the horror story:

Shortly after completing the course while on vacation, there was a boating accident off that island. VISAR and a group of divers known to be good and able to handle it were organized to search for 2 young boys who were missing. A guy who is a good friend of mine and who did the class with me was one of those who was asked to help and he accepted. Well, to make a long story shorter: The search pattern training we did apparently was effective, and he was able to find one of the victims. Sadly the boy had not survived.

So while you're learning this stuff keep in mind that someday you very well may need to use it, and possibly sooner than you might think.

 

[jpedwards]

All I can say is try to relax ... enjoy it! :shades: A good instructor won't throw more at you than you can handle.

 

[zboss]

I just finished mine today... I had many of the same issues, but don't sweat it. To me, I found that the best part was learning just how hard it is to actually save someone effectively. On the other hand - I learned that a victim's chances of living are increased dramatically just by a person trained in rescue being there to help and any small way.

Don't worry about the class - I bet you will find that it's challanging in ways that you hadn't thought of, rather than in ways you thought it would. This is the whole point of the class - to get you thinking about what would you do in a rescue situation and to give examples of the different situations you may encounter.

 

[Charlie99]

Do any of you have any hints for things that perhaps were not explained well in the book/movie or any other possible hints for things that I need to pay attention to. I am not sure why I am so parnoid about this particular class, but I am. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hint 1: I found the real value in the class is doing repeated practical in-water exercises such as degearing a diver while simultaneously continuing rescue breathing. Optimum class size is just 2 or 4 persons, so that you can spend a lot of time really doing things rather than watching others.

Hint 2: make a bet with your buddy as to who can drown the other most often when doing the panicked diver exercises
It makes the exercise more realistic.

Hint 3: Be sure the instructor warns bystanders that you will be doing rescue drills. All the activity tends to freak out people that don't know it's a drill.

 

[mike_s]

I hear you swim your butt off in this class.....

With that said, would diving Nitrox while taking this class help?
(I'm thinking that Nitrox would make you not get as tired from
all the swimming).

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I hear you swim your butt off in this class.....

With that said, would diving Nitrox while taking this class help?
(I'm thinking that Nitrox would make you not get as tired from
all the swimming).

Not really. Most of the swimming, other than searching underwater, is on the surface towing a diver back. Then you have to have your reg out to communicate and provide breaths. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have it, but the main reason some find Nitrox makes you feel better is less nitrogen being absorbed. Since the dives are usually very short (20 minutes max usually before you come up to regroup and assess), you aren't absorbing that much anyway.

 

[Juls64]

hey bud this is an easy class

Well I never thought of it as easy, but it was informative and I got alot out of it. Read what you can and be prepared, then just relax and go with the flow. There is an instructor, so let him/her do their job and instruct. You do your job and be a good STUDENT. That means you are there to learn, not that you know it all already.

Relax, it will be fine!

Good Luck and enjoy!

Julie