chrpai:
I hear many people talk about what they do on each dive to keep their skills fresh. What do people do to maintain their readiness to assist in emergencies? While I did my Rescue Diver course a couple of years ago, I realize that I havn't really spent alot of time maintaining readiness in that department.
Just food for thought.
Good question, Chrpai!
I keep my own rescue skills sharp by teaching rescue.
Last night, in the basic open water class that I am currently teaching, I did a pool demonstration with one of the students acting as an unconscious submerged diver. Then the students had to perform the rescues as well.
You could practice these procedures on your own, at a pool, if you like, with your buddy:
1) Find the lost diver's bubble stream and descend down it to find him/her
2) Tap the diver to ascertain if he/she is conscious or unconscious
3) Orally inflate the diver's B/C until he/she begins to ascend
4) Stay with the diver (grasp the shoulder strap) and control the ascent
5) On the surface, ditch the diver's weight belt
6) Ditch your own weight belt (in that order)
7) Call for help while you are ditching the belts
8) Remove the diver's mask and begin rescue breaths
9) Remove your own mask if it gets in the way of your performing rescue breathing
10) Call for help again and begin to swim for shore or for the boat
11) Ditch the diver's B/C if he/she is wearing an exposure suit. If not wearing an exposure suit, fully inflate the diver's B/C but leave it on him/her, waiting to ditch until you are at the shore or at the boat
12) Continue rescue breaths at the rate of 1 every 5 seconds or 2 every 10 seconds
13) Ditch your own B/C
14) Ditch your own fins once you have arrived at the shore
15) Get the diver out of the water and continue to call for help
16) Remove the diver's hood, if he/she is wearing one
17) Check for a pulse at the neck
18) Begin CPR if no pulse, at the rate of 15 compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths
19) Continue your efforts until relieved by EMTs
20) Provide a detailed description of the accident to the EMTs and/or peace officers.
You can visualize this all in your head, then practice it at a pool, then practice it at the open water as well. Make sure you tell the lifeguards in advance that you plan to do this drill, so that they do not get the wrong impression about what is going on.
By signing up for a divemaster course, you will review rescue procedures at least once during the program, and also whenever you assist with a rescue class. If you become an instructor, you will review rescue again during the ITC, and then teach it from time to time.
In NAUI, we introduce rescue during the basic O/W course.
