The PADI Rescue Diver course can be one of the most rewarding and fun programs to teach. The Rescue Diver course teaches divers to become more aware of others, while also building their own confidence and competence. Students learn to identify potential issues before they become problems, and they gain knowledge into the proper responses to various emergencies. As a PADI Instructor, teaching the PADI Rescue Diver course is a crucial strategy to help your dive business by:
Filling your pipeline with confident and engaged divers who refer more customers.
Growing your own team to offer more flexible scheduling and reach more students.
Creating a path to make new instructors.
10 Tips for Teaching Your Next Rescue Diver Course
The Instructor Development Course has already given you with the tools and foundation to teach the PADI Rescue Diver Course. Whether you’re getting ready to teach your first Rescue Diver course or your hundredth, your attitude sets the class tone. Here are 10 tips with a video series to help you confidently teach your next PADI Rescue Diver course.
Tip #1: Review Your Teaching Resources
As an instructor, one of the first things you should do (early and often) is review your teaching materials. Familiarize yourself with the most recent PADI Instructor Manual for the latest in Rescue Diver standards and requirements. Next, look at the Guide to Teaching for key points on Rescue Diver. These documents provide detailed information on course structure, prerequisites, skills, and assessment criteria. This ensures you have the checklist for all the requirements at your fingertips for logistical planning.
Visit the PADI Pros’ Site Training Hub to access the Instructor Manual, Guide to Teaching, exams and answer keys. View this six-minute video on how to prepare for teaching the PADI Rescue Diver course. The video walks you through exactly where to find what you need.
Tip #2: Choose & Schedule Your Open Water Environment
It’s best to practice rescue skills in confined water first. Students will then be more ready to show mastery in an open water environment. You can also include a dry workshop where students can practice the steps in each exercise and scenario. View this nine-minute video on where to conduct your PADI Rescue Diver course. Then evaluate & decide on your:
Local confined water or pool environment
Local open water environment
Effective emergency assistance plan and prepare it accordingly
Tip #3: Secure the Necessary Equipment
Check all your equipment, refill any oxygen and first aid kits and have extra gear so students can practice together on emergency scenarios. Prepare to incorporate realistic rescue scenarios and simulations into your training sessions relative to the environment you’ll be diving. This helps students envision and develop practical skills and problem-solving abilities. Emphasize the importance of remaining calm, focused, and proactive in emergency situations while practicing with the equipment. Be knowledgeable about emergency management procedures and the use of specialized equipment for diver rescue situations. You’ll help students assess and respond to different types of diving emergencies. You’ll also prepare them to use proper oxygen administration equipment, first aid kits, and communication devices. Having the right resources will help reinforce key concepts and enhance the learning experience for your students. Make sure you have the following equipment to teach the course:
First aid kit
Oxygen kit
Rescue breathing masks
Floats and marker buoys
CPR mannequins (if also teaching the EFR course in-house)
Tip #4: Prepare an Effective Emergency Assistance Plan
Understand the principles of risk management and dive planning as they relate to conducting safe Rescue Diver training. This includes identifying potential hazards, assessing environmental conditions, developing emergency action plans, and implementing appropriate safety protocols during training dives.
Tip #5: Keep Your Teaching Materials on Site
Always keep your teaching materials with you for yourself and students to reference. Supplement your verbal instruction with visual aids, multimedia presentations, and practical demonstrations to enhance understanding and retention of key concepts. Use props, diagrams, videos, and other resources to illustrate important points and reinforce learning objectives. If not using eLearning, administer written exams and practical assessments to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills. Provide constructive feedback to help them improve and address any areas where they may need additional practice. Stage these teaching materials with your equipment at your confined/open water environments and classroom:
Rescue Diver Manual (or eLearning)
Dive accident management work slate
Logbook
Tip #6: Download the Current Forms for Your Class
Send digital forms to each of your students divers to complete at their convenience prior to the course. You can issue forms when you send your students the Rescue Diver eLearning codes or download them from the PADI Pros’ Site.
Tip #7: Ensure Your Students Have Necessary Materials
Ensure each of your students have the Rescue Diver Crew Pak and encourage them to start their knowledge development right away. Then, invite all students for an orientation and equipment overview to address any questions prior to the first day of class. For eLearners who are learning mostly on their own time, you can set up a virtual meeting to establish rapport and support. View this eight-minute video for Rescue Diver knowledge development tricks to keep the engagement level high for all learners.
Tip #8: Review Exercise Demonstrations
Review the PADI Rescue Diver exercise demonstrations to refresh and address any questions. (Review videos four through 12 on the playlist). Adapt exercises to your environment with different scenarios, like diving from a boat or the beach. Offer opportunities for students to explore topics or activities that align with their individual interests and goals and discuss related continuing education courses, like Search & Recovery, Navigation, etc. This teaching rescue video playlist helps you keep the required exercises top of mind for:
Self-rescue techniques
Recognizing and managing stress in other divers
Assisting panicked and tired divers
Responding to unresponsive divers at the surface and underwater
Conducting search patterns and locating missing divers
Providing emergency assistance and first aid/CPR for diving-related injuries
You can bookmark the PADI Rescue Diver video playlist as a quick reference.
It can be viewed as a suite of resources, or used in isolation
It can be viewed as many times as needed!
It can (and should) be shared with your dive store’s teams and other PADI Pros to be used for practice, discussion, and more.
In addition to being available on YouTube, you can access this How to Teach Rescue Diver video playlist through the Marketing Hub in the PADI Pros’ Site.
Tip #9: Schedule Future Courses
Try adapting one of the three sample course scheduling options in PADI’s Guide to Teaching for Rescue Diver.
Tip #10: Promote the PADI Rescue Diver Course
Promoting self-rescue skills and diver awareness should be a part of your entire culture. Remember to link the benefits of the Rescue Diver course during any Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver courses.
Consider hosting a Rescue event with snacks and information about the course benefits. Invite past students and those interested in becoming a PADI Pro. Update signage in your store, send out an email blast or post on social media to promote your Rescue event. Keep your course schedule current. Ask potential students to join the e-newsletter list about upcoming workshops and dive club nights.
Teaching the PADI Rescue Diver course begins with your preparation as an instructor. These 10 tips are reminders to help ensure a fun and successful experience for your students. Plus, you’ll be modeling an exciting career for students considering to take the next step to becoming a PADI Pro.
Additional Resources
View the “How to Teach the PADI Rescue Diver course” Video Series Tutorials
Also available through the Marketing Hub in the PADI Pros’ Site
Review the PADI Pros’ Site Training Hub:
Instructor Manual
Guide to Teaching
Utilize the PADI Pros’ Site Marketing Hub
Images & Video Assets – Courses (Rescue)
Additional Resources – Emergency First Response
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