Whats your PADI DM course like?

[=C=]

Hi All,

I haven't done many PADI classes but I selected PADI because of its popularity to do the IDC (I started NASDS, SSI, IANTD). I'm doing the DM portion now and I was curious what your experiences with the classes have been. My shop has about 16 candidates that have been doing the program for various lengths of time. Some are working on it for an extremely long time...

My course goes like this: I read the book, I do the tests, I practice skills in front of the mirror. I also use youtube to find the best ways to do the pool skills.

Then.. we set a time to meet when I have everything down and we grade the test and I demo the skills.

Is this about par for the course?

What was your program like?

 

[scubamarketing]

Seems a little hands off to me. When I was teaching, it was a college course, so a full term two night per week (an hour each) was dedicated just to the knowledge portion. So lecture, practice, Q&A, test, review for mastery. The second term was practical application: get in the pool and come along on weekends. We demonstrated and explained everything to our candidates, but this was before the dominance of YouTube. Let's just say if you joined my staff and I learned that's how you got your DM rating, I'd be doing some one-on-one practice to make sure you actually knew your stuff.

 

[hypertech]

I'm doing this now. It is all on my schedule. I can do all the studying on my own or I can go in for classroom. It is setup so that different people who learn different ways can do it. So far I've been doing self study and stopping in the dive shop one night a week to do short review sessions and take exams. I've done 5/8 so far. Pool work starts next week. A couple candidates are meeting together to do the fitness tests and some other things that are easier in a group. Then it is back to me scheduling things as I'm ready and my schedule allows. If I'm able to get all my interning done, I expect the course to take me 2-3 months to complete.

 

[TMHeimer]

We did: Classroom-academics, written tests.
Pool Demo. skills (only part I have to shore up to finish).
Interned one OW course-pool,checkouts-2 weekends.
Assisted with Rescue Course.
The dreaded stamina tests-I needed a re-take after months of swimming laps.
One charter. Certified divers.
Mapping Project.
DM Conducted Programs (simulated)
Rescue Pool scenario-unconscious diver on bottom to surface, tow while removing equip.
Equipment exchange-unit, fins, mask-not wt. belts or suits.

 

[Scott]

First thing is an orientation where a detailed list of requirements is provided along with some benchmark dates.
Academics: Sections are assigned in advance ie: Read 1-4 by _______ We meet and go over the section(s), then go over knowledge reviews and quizzes.
Pool: One session to see how they perform the 20 skills with feedback. Schedule practice session(s) if needed and then we do a final assesment session soon after.
Candidates all have our course schedules and need to intern/audit as many OW classes as they can. Just one is not acceptable.
Con-ed will be an AOW and a Rescue. Again as many as possible. Typically during the rescue OW I'll do the rescue assesment.
Mock class (DSD) with DMC's, staff instructors and DM's. They can intern/audit as many real DSD's as they feel they need before hand.
Watermanship tests are scheduled anytime the candidate feels they want to give it a go. They recieve time = score in advance
Mapping Project is assigned during orientation so they have time to plan.
Equipment exchange is not planned in advance since they learn BB during the 20 skills. Show up at the pool and guess what were doing today?
It's not a six week course.

Not sure what else I may have left out.

 

[marinediva]

Must say your courses sound boring......

During the two months I did my course, I assisted on
8 DSD's, 15 Ow courses, over 50 advanced dives, 1 speciality, and from memory 5 rescue courses. I had lectures for all theory subject a couple I did twice.
DM sessions in the pool for skills I did the circuit at least 4 times and improved my score each time, equipment exchange 5 times in pool and twice in ocean,
I did my DM course in Thailand. Yep one of those cattle boat schools.
Averaged 100 dives a month.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I am very surprised at the stories of such non-contact for the course.
My course- 10 -12 classroom sessions to fully cover all material.
2-3 equipment classes for equipment repair and troubleshooting.
Swim Test
4 pool sessions to cover skills practice, troubleshooting, rescue scenarios, more of all...
pool skills tests with class scenarios
course tests
Sea dives
Required dm for OW class, intro class, adv. class, rescue class-sit through and dm for, and boat charter dm each weekend.

I was taught that way, and it's the same way I teach it. It should be intensive and not isolated. You learn as much from the class interaction as the books. Also, you need the real dm of a class experience. I always have them shadow a good dm for a class, then participate, and then dm like a big boy/girl. Troubleshooting experience is invaluable.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm sure local climate and number of courses per year/month offered have something to do with fewer interned OW courses for DMCs. Another consideration is if DMCs (like the other 3 in my class) and instructors as well work full time, which in our case limited us to weekends for everything. Starting in Oct. there are maybe 8 weekends until you don't want to do checkouts diving wet. Next opportunity is Mid May when temps. may reach 43F or so, and that's dicey. One of us finished up in June. I think we have a pretty good LDS (and essentially the only one in the whole province). They probably do the best they can.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Like marinediva, I went to an Instructor Factory, but in the 'Keys.

I did their complete Career Development program;
. . AOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 days
. . Rescue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
. . Medic First-Aid/Dan O2. . . 1
. . DM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
. . Dive Theory Prep . . . . . . . 1 (optional - I took day off)
. . IDC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
. . IE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
. . MFA Instructor. . . . . . . . . . 1
. . Dan O2 Instructor . . . . . . . 1
. . EAN Instructor. . . . . . . . . . 1
. . MSDT Prep . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
. . Dive Center Operations. . . 10 (included IANTD EANx Gas Blender & PSI VIP Inspector)
. . Resort Photo-Pro . . . . . . . . 3

43 out of 44 days. After another day off, with the neighboring training operation, I did;

IANTD Dolphin/Atlantis Rebreather Diver . . . . . . . 3
Emergency Management/Accident Awareness . . . . 2

I had asked for and received written documentation of my "Package" with the "Factory" and it included unlimited diving from their boats for 2 months, starting a couple days before my AOW course. Now, with rented Dolphin in hand I made 8 trips and 16 mostly solo RB dives with bottles I "blended." Each of those 4 days ended with my Blender/RB Instructor "debriefing" me while I cleaned his RB and filled bottles. After that I spent a week training with his boss, my Emergency Management Instructor;

IANDT Adv. Nitrox Instructor Crossover. . . . . . . . . 5 days

This is just to show pretty much the other end of the spectrum. My DM was 6 days. 2 months prior I was a lowly PADI OW diver; now I was a few RB dives from qualifying for IANTD Dolphin Instructor Training!

It took all of the next 2 weeks to find a suitable Cave Instructor and then do NSS-CDS Cavern and Intro to Cave. The most fun part of that experience was the extra critical and tough nearly hazing training administered to the PADI Zero to Hero, and the eventual "good job" at certification. My training buddy did whine a couple times that he was also being punished.

This part is not just patting myself on the back; I am pointing out that after only 80 dives with a PADI Zero to Hero school I breezed through IANTD Dolphin and NSS-CDS Cavern & Intro to Cave. I thank my Instructors and classmates from the Instructor Factory; their commitment to good diving and good divers more than made up for the greed behind the cash register.

I have looked at comparable Instructor Factory schedules lately and it seems that 10 years later many programs are now done in even less days than mine.

I still think a competent and committed regular diver can become a better Instructor in an intensive program where from the AOW class onward your Instructors and fellow class mates are all focused on the end product of Dive Instructors!

When I returned to Hawaii, sure there were things that I had to "learn on the job" but FWIS, the newish Instructors who "did it the old fashioned way" are flailing on at least as many things, many that I had down pat since before DM.

 

[belairbrian]

I am doing my DM now. I already had AOW and Rescue done. I am working with a private instructor. The academics are academics read the book do quiz take test. Stamina tests are something you do. if you don't make them first try you keep doing till you have enough points.

For the practical work, I've done demo on all the skills, and Dm'd on 6 OW and 2 Adv courses. Have another ADV next weekend. Since Inst and I ride back and forth to dive sites together we have plenty of time to talk about went right and what did not.

We both trust the other. Since I'm behind the students on tour dives I see stuff he doesn't. We talk between dives and I'm to the point he trust my opinion.

maybe that comes from the fact I've been diving 15 years and he and I dive with our kids just for fun. Not sure the situation would be the same if I went OW ,AOW, Rescue, DM in 2 months.