Rescue Diver

Many of you have probably mastered your open water and advanced certifications and are curious about what more you can learn. Perhaps you have considered the challenge and safety benefits of becoming a rescue diver. We at Scuba Diving Buzz have pulled together some basic information on this elite level of diving certification. Please read on and consider taking your scuba dreams to the next level! 

Underwater rescue is certainly not the easiest of tasks and demands a high level of commitment and expertise. While you are not likely to come across sailors trapped in a submarine deep in an underwater crevice or be required to rescue people from a sinking vessel, you may want to be prepared if one of your dive buddies begins to panic, has an equipment malfunction or gets caught on fishing line 75 feet away from the surface. This certification helps prepare you for the unexpected and should be considered by anyone who believes that scuba diving will be a relatively frequent hobby.

The rescue diver course is special because it will offer you rewards as well as fun. It will test your skills to the limit and expand your level of experience and knowledge. As a rescue diver: the safety and well-being of others will always come first and this is reason alone should be enough to consider learning more.

The rescue diver certification course consists of 25 course hours and at least 5 sessions of open water training. Some of the important aspects that you will focus on as a part of the course include:

  • Self-rescue as well as diver stress
  • First aid
  • Emergency oxygen delivery systems as well as AED
  • Swimming rescue techniques
  • Non-swimming rescue techniques
  • Panicked diver response
  • Emergency management and equipment
  • Any underwater problems
  • Surfacing an unconscious diver
  • Missing diver related procedures
  • In-water rescue breathing protocols
  • First aid procedures for high water pressure related accidents
  • Egress (exits)
  • Dive accident scenario

Requirements for the Rescue Diving Certification Course

There are specific requirements you should consider for this course as this is an advanced program and needs a significant level of experience and skills. The requirements include:

  • You must be a certified Advanced Open Water Diver
  • If you have an Open Water Diver Certification, but no Advanced Certification, then you can work on Rescue Diving in confined waters as well as Advanced Open Water Diver certification course simultaneously.
  • You should have more than 20 logged dives that document your experience in deep sea diving, open water diving as well as underwater navigation
  • Your minimum age needs to 15 years old
  • You should have successfully completed a CPR program in the last 2 years or 24 months.

So what are you waiting for? Lets take an open water dive!
Click here find a SCUBA school near you!