You are on the boat after a great dive when a buddy team surfaces, and one of them calls out for help. The boat crew helps get the distressed diver on board. Would you know what to do next? Whatever your level of dive training, or even if you are a nondiver dealing with an incident on land, DAN’s first aid training can help you know what to do and how to do it.
In November, DAN launched version 3.0 of our first aid training courses. The new version reflects current international protocols for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid and related skills. Courses focus on basic life support, emergency oxygen and first aid for dive professionals.
The revised Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid course covers CPR for adults, children and infants performed by one or two rescuers. It also includes using an automated external defibrillator and addressing a foreign body airway obstruction. First aid skills include stopping bleeding by various means, including direct pressure, wound packing and tourniquets. The course also includes first aid for various medical conditions.
Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries continues to be DAN’s flagship course. Students learn when and how to deliver oxygen to divers and victims of submersion events using a nonrebreather mask, demand valve, bag valve mask or a manually triggered ventilator.
Diving First Aid for Professional Divers is designed for dive pros, but anyone can benefit from the skills applicable outside of diving. The course incorporates all the skills from the other two courses and adds neurological assessments and treating hazardous marine life injuries.
To enroll in a course and find a DAN Instructor near you, visit DAN.org/education-events/instructor-led-courses.
© Alert Diver — Q3/Q4 2021