PADI Specialty Instructor

[projekts]

Does anyone know if it is a must to go through the specialty course with a course director before an open water instructor can get a specific specialty instructor status?
I was told that an open water instructor can apply for a specialty instructor with PADI directly if he can prove that he had done 20 dives of that specialty.
Can anyone verify if this is true? More information on this will be beneficial for all OWSI or potential OWSI.
Thanks

 

[Simon-]

Until an OWSI has reached MSDT status, to teach the specialty courses, they have to go through a CD for the instructor training.

Once MSDT, they can apply directly providing they have logged proof in the specialty. The number of required dives could vary from specialty to specialty.

 

[Scott]

Verified by the GS&P pages in the instructor manual.

Page 154
Specialty Instructor
PADI Members qualify for PADI Specialty Instructor ratings either by attending Specialty Instructor Training Courses conducted by a PADI Course Director or by applying directly to their PADI Office (with exceptions noted below).

These exception pertain to nitrox, public safety, cavern and SCR instructor ratings

Specialty Instructor Training Course
Course Prerequisite
PADI Assistant Instructor (certified/upgraded since 1995), or completed an IDC/OWSI Program within the past 12 months. Assistant Instructors may become Specialty
Instructors in only those specialty courses that do not include open water dives.

Page 156
Applying Directly to Your PADI Office
Prerequisites
1. PADI Instructor
2. Certified 25 divers
a. No more than five from courses without dives.
b. No more than five from PADI Seal Team or Master Seal Team registrations.
3. 20 dives in the specialty area
4. Agree to use the PADI Specialty Course Instructor Guide by signing the statement on the application or submit an instructor-authored outline to your PADI Office for review.

Hope this helps

 

[Hawkwood]

The info is available on the Pro Site. Just go into Your Account and go to the link for Online Specialty/MSDT Instructor Application. There you will find the Specialties you can apply for based on the "20 dive" rule. I have only done one specialty that way - I felt I had learned enough tips and tricks through assisting other instructors to warrant simply applying for the teaching certification.

For the other Specialties I can teach, I received the teaching certification after instruction by a CD. I learned a ton of stuff that way - teaching tips, tricks, etc. that were invaluable. There would be no way I'd attempt to teach those without the coaching - I am still quite new to teaching, so the help was what I needed. My knowledge, skill, and experience was not the concern for those Specialties, it was the "how to teach" that was important for me.

There are a lot of the Specialties you (or I for that matter) can be certified to teach based on the "20 dive" rule. The question to ask is whether you can provide value to a student even though you might be certified to teach based on the "20 dive" rule. Take photography for example. I think I am at the point where I could provide a good, solid Digital Photography course. However, we have another instructor who taught me the course. There is no way I could come close to providing the same level of instruction and value that he provides to his students. Therefore why would I bother becoming a Specialty Instructor for that course. I would certainly consider it if he wasn't with us.

Bill

 

[Peter Guy]

As others have said, you can "self-certify" once you have 25 total certs (NOT 25 students -- I found out there are many "tricks" to getting to the 25 cert level) and have at least 20 dives in that particular "specialty." You do NOT have to be an MSDT (in fact, you can't be an MSDT until you are certified to teach 5 specialties) to self-certify.

I have taken one "How to teach a specialty" class and that convinced me not to take any more. I ended up self-certifying for a number of specialties and have no qualms about doing it. By the time I became an Instructor I had more than 500 dives in the prior 4 years in a variety of conditions, was Full Cave (TDI) and NAUI Tech (the equivalent to a PADI Tec 45 diver plus helium). I felt then, and still feel, I had enough practical and classroom experience to teach the specialties.

One other point -- IF you self-certify, you can only use a dive once -- that is, suppose you went out on a boat, used a dry suit and dove a wreck. You could use that dive as one of your 20 dives for the boat specialty, dry suit specialty or the wreck specialty -- BUT you could NOT use the same dive as one of the 20 for more than one specialty.

 

[300bar]

Until an OWSI has reached MSDT status, to teach the specialty courses, they have to go through a CD for the instructor training.

Once MSDT, they can apply directly providing they have logged proof in the specialty. The number of required dives could vary from specialty to specialty.

There must be a new manual out

 

[Simon-]

There must be a new manual out

Apologies, but one would hope that an OWSI would undertake at least the 5 courses required for MSDT instead of self-certifying, My mistake

 

[projekts]

thanks for the reply guys
appreciate that...

 

[mmerriman]

Until an OWSI has reached MSDT status, to teach the specialty courses, they have to go through a CD for the instructor training.

Once MSDT, they can apply directly providing they have logged proof in the specialty. The number of required dives could vary from specialty to specialty.

incorrect.

 

[Peter Guy]

Simon - If a new O W S I had a lot of experience, why not self-certify? As I wrote, my experience with the CD led course was not worthwhile to me. Does it not depend on the over all situation?