Many training courses are based around pre-course knowledge development for several courses with the student pre-reading or learning material before the course itself; the course is then 'broken' forcing the student to come back for further training and booking on more courses. A look at any of the main recreational diver training agencies will show this simple fact with the full 'range' of courses available.
If we look at the current consensus and scientific data on the basic, Level 1, skills that are of benefit in the event of a [diver] medical emergency we can see that there are 4 concepts that need to be addressed:
In the United Kingdom, there is only one complete recreational training course for individuals that teaches all four concepts at the same time, to increase resuscitation efficiency - the DELS First Responder Course, which is the only diving medical course to be approved by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh's Faculty of Pre-hospital Care.
Why do we teach 4 skills concepts in one course?
Simple. Continuity of care and efficiency of delivery. Ask yourself, if faced with a diver who is not breathing and requires assessment and evacuation as well as resuscitation, which skill comes first? There are only 2 of you that can immediately provide help and you need to prioritise treatment. At this point it can often start to go wrong as you think back to the main areas you have learnt.
Although you may have learnt all the skills required, which order do you complete them in? As a rule, based on current clinical practise guidelines, remember the following:
If we look at the current consensus and scientific data on the basic, Level 1, skills that are of benefit in the event of a [diver] medical emergency we can see that there are 4 concepts that need to be addressed:
- Basic Life Support - CPR and AED Defibrillation
- Oxygen Administration
- Neurological Assessment
- First Aid and Haemorrhage Control Skills
Why do we teach 4 skills concepts in one course?
Simple. Continuity of care and efficiency of delivery. Ask yourself, if faced with a diver who is not breathing and requires assessment and evacuation as well as resuscitation, which skill comes first? There are only 2 of you that can immediately provide help and you need to prioritise treatment. At this point it can often start to go wrong as you think back to the main areas you have learnt.
Although you may have learnt all the skills required, which order do you complete them in? As a rule, based on current clinical practise guidelines, remember the following:
- Oxygen is administered in all [diving] casualties as soon as the Airway is cleared
- Defibrillation should always be carried out at the same time as resuscitation
- Any diver who is unconscious following a dive has acute neurological DCI until proved otherwise
- The arrest of catastrophic haemorrhage takes priority over airway management