Rescue diver certification as a medical doctor: EFR needed?

[tryptanol]

Hello,

I am a certified Advanced Open Water Diver with 40 dives logged and a medical student. In 1 month I will attend my last state examination and after passing it I will officially be a medical doctor.

I would like to continue my divng education taking the next step - rescue diver certification. During the 6 years of medical studies I had a couple of different emergency first aid courses included in the curriculum - not only Basic Life Support with CPR but also Advanced Life Support, Anaestesiology emergency medicine etc.

So I hope that it will not be necessary for me as a medical professionl to take once again an EFR for starting the Rescue Diver Course? What kind of cerfiticate I should show at the diving center for starting the Rescue diver course? Does a German Medical Doctor ID would be enough or would I need some other certificate?

Thank you for your help and advice in advance!

 

[knotical]

Assuming PADI (since you mentioned EFR), proof of CPR and first aid training within the last two years should suffice.

to wit:
Although the PADI Americas Rescue Diver Course Instructor Guide says a prerequisite for the Rescue course is:

EFR® Primary and Secondary Care training within 24 months.

The General Standards and Procedures Guide says certifications through other training organizations are acceptable for some prerequisites. For EFR it says:

&#8230; proof of current CPR training <and> proof of current first aid training.

caveat: The PADI Europe guides might be somewhat different.
caveat: Other certifying agencies might have different requirements.

 

[Hawkwood]

I had a similar situation with a student who was an Emergency Room nurse with 15 years of experience. I contacted the PADI Training Department regarding that circumstance.

The issue is two-fold:

1. She may have many qualifications, but no &#8220;certifications&#8221; as such; and,
2. PADI&#8217;s Rescue course Standards requires a current (within 24 months) First Aid with CPR/AED certifications as a pre-requisite for the Rescue course.

An Instructor cannot deviate from the Standards. To do so puts them in a position of disciplinary action from PADI.

The PADI training consultant I talked to provided a simple solution that was acceptable to PADI.

The simple solution was for the nurse to provide a letter from her Supervisor/hospital, etc., on department or hospital letterhead stating that her qualifications and work experience are more than adequate to satisfy the knowledge and skill development received in a Standard First Aid course.

That letter satisfied the documentation requirements from PADI&#8217;s perspective and allow me to deviate from the Standards.

In her position, she had a CPR/AED card from her annual required training. She had to provide that. Alternatively, PADI said she could have the letter state when she last took the CPR/AED training and have everything covered in the single document.

The letter had to be on her department or hospital letterhead and signed by her Supervisor.

Your Instructor will need to get similar confirmation.

 

[jwelburn]

Depending on how soon you intend to do rescue, it seems pretty standard for hospitals to require all employees to complete annual or bi-annual CPR/First Aid courses which will issue cards that will cover your requirement.

 

[TSandM]

I am an ER doc, and have to keep ACLS and PALS and ATLS current. None of it was considered to substitute for EFR when we contacted PADI for my Rescue class. I had to take the EFR.

 

[TMHeimer]

I am an ER doc, and have to keep ACLS and PALS and ATLS current. None of it was considered to substitute for EFR when we contacted PADI for my Rescue class. I had to take the EFR.

I was thinking of you. Not sure what those acronyms stand for, but you're saying you have no kind of a card/documentation PADI would accept that says as a Dr. you are always certified to do CPR? Our shop requires renewal of EFR every 2 years as a DM--would (do) you have to do that as well--and pay for a CPR course.....? I guess you could find a victim, assess the scene and dial 911--oh wait, you ARE 911.

 

[SubAquatix]

CPR is, to be fair, only a component of the EFR course.

While I am sure a Medical Doctor (or Nurse, or Paramedic) has received training above and beyond that of an EFR course, we live in a litigious society and sometimes it comes down to having a box checked. That said, I am nearly certain that, by providing a document from the hospital, stating your training met or exceeding the training provided by an EFR course, that the check box could be filled. Of course, that depends on the organization and the person you speak to there.

FWIW, I find it is funny that they have a checkbox for EFR, but if you take one from DAN, ARS or AHA, each is different!!!

 

[uncfnp]

FWIW. I spoke with two different instructors with two different agencies, both familiar with me and my profession, and both accepted my credentials as adequate for the course.

 

[knotical]

I am an ER doc, and have to keep ACLS and PALS and ATLS current. None of it was considered to substitute for EFR when we contacted PADI for my Rescue class. I had to take the EFR.

Wow! That boggles the mind. Someone in that decision making process needed to apply a bit more common sense. Sadly, common sense often doesn't seem to be very common.

Still, I'm sure your classmates and the instructor in the EFR class benefited from your presence. When I was conducting EFR, Rescue and the various DAN courses, it was always a pleasure to have someone from the medical professions. I always learned from them.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I taught rescue class that had a physicians assistant with 15 years of er experience that was a paramedic before that. There was also a combat medic and his pharmacist wife. Guess who taught the neuro exam? Not me. I talked about the book version but the pa and medic showed how it's really done in the field in an emergency situation. Making a medical professional take an efr course just seems downright disrepectful and unnecessary.