The Publication of the DAN Education Department

WINTER 2012

DAN Education Welcomes

New Staff Members

New DAN First Aid Programs To Debut This Year Last year DAN Education began a major rewrite of all course materials. The pro-grams had not had a complete facelift for at least 10 years. With the release of the 2010 Guidelines for Resuscitation and the move from A-B-C to C-A-B for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, this was an ideal time to update materials and include new photos, text and instructional videos.

The content of all first aid programs has been extensively reviewed and expertly vetted. The result is a reflection of cur-rent science and technology. New student handbooks are full color and contain added features such as “Advanced Con-cepts” on some topics and quick-response

(QR) codes that can be scanned by mobile devices for links to additional information.

Electronic versions of the student hand-books are planned for later in 2012.

Instructor guides are streamlined and provide a quick-reference format. Detailed skill descriptions are included with the new instructor in mind. Key points are focused for teaching clarity. Suggested sce-narios are still part of each skill.

The projected release of the new student handbooks and instructor guides for the DEMP component courses is this spring. Online knowledge development will be revised and posted simultaneously with the release of the new materials. The

Two new staff members recently joined the DAN Education team. Brian Wake, a DAN Examiner and the former DAN Canadian distributor, is the new director of DAN Education. He has been a DAN Instructor Trainer since 1996, offering the full complement of DAN programs. Wake already has made an impact on DAN Education programs.

Frances Smith, a paramedic and DAN Instructor Trainer, comes to DAN from the University of North Carolina. When Smith accepted the position of DAN Education programs trainer, she com-mented she was “looking for something in her skill set that would be fun.” The consensus here at DAN is she is fun!

Many of you have been interacting with Jeff Wilkins over the past two years. He now joins us in a full-time position as of Jan. 1. We are excited to have him exclusively now as he has been an asset to the department.

EDUCATION

While not a new staff member, Patty Seery has a new title as deputy director of DAN Education.

We look forward to supporting you in promoting dive safety.

Brian Wake Patty Seery

Frances Smith Jeff Wilkins

DAN Education 2012 Calendar

Instructor Trainer Workshop

Mandatory Update Available

Instructor 48-MonthRule Now Enforced

Kudos To DAN Instructors

Marketing Tip

Upgrade Your CPR Skills

Team Teaching Benefits Students,

Instructors

Continued on Page 5

Oxygen Window DAN Education2 WINTER 2012

2012Calendar

February 11 WebEx Update Presentation 17-19 Our World Underwater, Chicago, Ill. 24-26 Toronto Dive and Adventure Show

March 9-11 Instructor Trainer Workshop, Durham, N.C. 13 WebEx Update Presentation 23-25 Beneath the Sea, Secaucus, N.J.

April 3 WebEx Update Presentation 10-12 DMT Continuing Education, Durham, N.C. 13-14 Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Durham, N.C. 15-20 DMT Certification Course, Durham, N.C. 20-22 Tacoma Dive Show 22 Vancouver, BC

April-May 28-5 CME Dominica

May 18-20 Instructor Trainer Workshop, Durham, N.C.

August 17-19 Instructor Trainer Workshop, Durham, N.C.

September 16-21 DMT Certification Course, Durham, N.C.

October 6-13 CME, Bonaire

November 14-17 DEMA Show, Las Vegas, Nev.

Instructor Trainer WorkshopBecome a DAN Instructor Trainer in 2012! There are three pathways to qualify to participate in an Instructor Trainer Workshop (ITW). The Instructor Trainer candidate must be:

1. an active status DAN Instructor and have taught at least three courses PLUS be an Instructor Trainer with scuba agency

OR2. IDC Staff instructor (or equivalent) and DAN DES Instructor OR3. CPR Instructor Trainer with recognized agency and DAN DES Instructor

In 2012 ITWs are scheduled at DAN headquarters in Durham, N.C., for March 9-11, May 18-20 and Aug. 17-19. For more information, please contact DAN Education or see the DAN website at www.DAN.org/ training.courses/iqc/418-420/DAN_Instructor_Trainer_Workshop

Mandatory Update Available With the extensive changes to the DAN Educa-tion first aid programs, a mandatory update is required of all DAN Instructors and Instructor Trainers. It will be available in multiple formats.

Live delivery: Launched at DEMA, this format allows for interaction with and by all par-ticipants. See the calendar in this issue for the tentative schedule of DAN Education on the Road events for a location in your area.

Online: For those who prefer to complete updates online, that option will be available soon. Watch the Instructors only section on the DAN website for the announcement and hyperlink.

WebEx conference: We have scheduled online live conferences for Feb. 11, March 13 and April 3. Up to 24 connections will be able to log into the online conference. If you have multiple DAN Instructors in one place, one connection will service your group. Watch your email for additional details.

Instructor 48-Month Rule Now EnforcedIn 2010 a new quality assurance standard was announced that requires DAN Instructors and Instructor Trainers to teach at least one course every 24 months. A single class would keep the instructors active in all programs they are credentialed to teach.

However, beginning in January 2012 any single course not taught in a 48-month period will be removed from the instructor’s credentials. Action to remove status will not take place until the end of each month, so take advantage of the diving off-season to bring divers into your center for first aid training. Bringing them in over the winter months keeps you in their minds for dive activities later in the year.

EDUCATION

oxygen windowOxygen Window is a quarterly publication of Divers Alert Network® for DAN Instructors.

Brian Wake • Patty Seery Francis Smith • Jeff Wilkins

Oxygen Window ©2012Divers Alert Network

1-800-446-2671 option 4www.DAN.org

William Jackson:(DEMP)

“Great class — had a lot of fun, learned a lot!”

Phillip Schell: (Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries)

“Phil explained everything well and did a great job.”

Robert Ross: (Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries)

“Great experience; top-notch instructors”

Dave Rintoul: (Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries)

“Dave was a great teacher and went above and beyond”

Rick Synoweic: (First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries)

“Instructor was very knowledgeable and made the class fun! Loved it!”

Jeremy Ellis: (Diving First Aid for Professional Divers)

“Definitely feel confident in saving people now! Learned a lot.”

“Creative teachers don’t just focus on the destination, they make the journey fun.”

— Paula J. Fox

3WINTER 2012Oxygen Window DAN Education

Kudos!These DAN Instructors received high marks from their students’ performance evaluations.

Marketing TipBundle HMLI and Fish ID Courses

One of most common items sold when students are on diving holidays are fish identification slates. These brightly colored slates have pictures of the local marine creatures native to the waters at the dive destination. Divers purchase these slates for about $10-$14 so they can identify the local marine life and intelligently discuss what they saw when diving or snor-keling.

Some dive stores have already taken advantage of this opportunity to provide fish identification courses to their clientele before they travel. They include a student handbook and ID slate for a two- to three-hour course. They use their own pictures and videos from previous trips to help get divers in the mood to have some fun diving prior to the trip.

Consider bundling your fish identifi-cation program with DAN’s First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries (HMLI) course. This course is perfect for your traveling divers and will give them additional information about the area in which they will be diving. This program is easy to integrate into your existing fish ID course and can be sold as a combo course, giving your divers a dual certification. You could attract more students by offering a discount when both certifi-cations are taken prior to the trip.

These two programs are excellent continuing education for your cus-tomers and will keep you teaching through the off-season months when local diving is not usually available.

Jon Bensman: (Basic Life Support and First Aid)

“I loved the class and feel prepared for any emergency.”

InstructorsCanada

Jeremy HeywoodSerge LavoieGerald WhiteElvis Medeiros Ian JonesPhineas SpencerRichard Andrew Fortin

U.S.Kirk P. MacLeanChad M. RectorSheri Sullenger Thomas Bisogno

WorldCaren Eckrich Stuart Fulton

CanadaDarcy KieranSebastien Savignac Donald MunroJohn Swanson Greg Weiss

U.S.Kenneth Lingle Donald Barthelmess Grant Graves Steven Reilly Mark Windham

World Virginia Albertengo Virginia Ubilla

Instructor Trainers

Top Performers The following DAN Instructors and Instructor Trainers were recognized at the DEMA Show in Orlando, Fla., this past November for being among the top five in certification numbers for their area.

Oxygen Window DAN Education4 WINTER 2012

To accommodate various new accredi-tation guidelines, facilities using and instructors teaching the DAN Diving First Aid for Professional Divers program must upgrade their CPR instructor creden-tial to health-care-provider status. This includes the addition of infant and child CPR as well as two-person adult, infant and child CPR. However, when teach-ing the new program, the infant-child and two-person CPR components will be optional. Inclusion for the provider is to be based on your company activity and requirements. Some affiliations will require the infant/child/two-person CPR components, others will not. The decision on whether to include the optional com-ponents is to be made with your facility administration.

For instructors who currently teach DAN Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid (BLS:CPR/FA), we are extending the upgrade opportunity to you as well. By completing the CPR skills upgrade, you can add to your teaching credentials DAN CPR Health-Care Provider with First Aid (CPR HCP), which replaces Basic Life Support for Dive Professionals (BLS Pro). Opportunities will be offered at DAN Education On the Road sites during 2012. See the calendar on Page 2 for the tenta-tive schedule.

For the benefit of our diving community, suctioning skills will be included as part of the full CPR HCP program.

Upgrade Your CPR Skills

Over the years I have encountered a per-ception that unless a store or instructor can fill a class of six or more, it is not worth teaching the course. This usually has a negative impact on customers, who may believe the instructor or store feels they are not worth the effort to teach them. Customers then find alternative places to spend their money or just walk away unsatisfied and may not return.One way that many instructors have resolved this issue is by team teaching,

where two or more instructors in an area work together. They meet a few times during the year to compile a schedule with identical course dates. The idea is to consolidate each instructor’s clientele into a single combined course. Instructor One may have two students, and Instruc-tor Two has three students. You now have a class size of five and, as it’s been said, the more the merrier.

This type of teaching benefits both the instructors and the students. The first and utmost benefit is the student does not have to wait for weeks or months for a store or instructor to accumulate “enough” students to run the course. Stu-dents won’t have to say they couldn’t find an instructor who would teach them (a regular complaint to the DAN Education office). Combined courses allow students to mingle with other divers and share a larger pool of experiences. Remember, diving is a social activity and should be shared with others. Team teaching gives students the opportunity to expe-rience different teaching styles, which may benefit their learning as well as the enrichment of additional insights.

Benefits to the instructor are also many. DAN allows both instructors to get credit for the entire class size while team teach-ing. In the example above, that would be five certifications for both instruc-tors, not just the two and three students per respective instructor. Instructors can teach different components of each program, focusing on their personal strengths. The cost-benefit ratio is richer when teaching larger classes of students. Instructors can mentor each other as they teach the courses. This allows for practice and perfecting classroom techniques. Students will return to their instruc-tor for other classes because they were accommodated in a timely fashion.

Just because there are several DAN instructors located in your area doesn’t mean they are your competition. They can also be your partners in educating divers in dive safety. As dive leaders and dive professionals, it will behoove you to join other professionals in your area and jointly grow the diving community through dive safety courses. Don’t let your customers go without.

— Brian Wake, director of DAN Education

Team Teaching Benefits Students, Instructors

5WINTER 2012Oxygen Window DAN Education

Summary of Changes to DAN Course Offerings2011

Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving InjuriesAdvanced Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries

AEDs for AquaticsAEDs for Scuba Diving

Basic Life Support and First Aid (BLSFA)

Basic Life Support for Dive Professionals

First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries (HMLI)

On-Site Neurological Assessment for Divers

Diving First Aid for Professional DiversCourse includes:

• Bloodborne pathogens • CPR + AEDs• Oxygen first aid• HMLI

Diving Emergency Management Provider (DEMP) includes:

• AEDs• Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries• Advanced Oxygen First Aid• HMLI

Dive Medicine for Divers: Parts 1, 2 and 3

2012Combined to new course: Emergency Oxygen for Injured Divers

Both courses will no longer be standalone programs; AED section is included in new CPR courses.

New course title: Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid (BLS:CPR/FA). Incorporates 2010 guidelines; skills moved to end of student handbook to facilitate online knowledge development

New course title: CPR Health-Care Provider with First Aid (CPR HCP); incorporates 2010 guidelines (still includes suctioning skills)

Expanded content

New course title: Neurological Assessment; Omit-ted sensory function testing; revised finger spread test; added FAST stroke evaluation and Romberg assessment

Instructor must be CPR HCP instructor, but DFA Pro course can include either CPR as appropriate for students. Course includes:

• Bloodborne pathogens • CPR• Emergency oxygen• HMLI• Neuro (added for 2012)

Course will now be available to all dive professionals with or without affiliations.

DEMP includes:• BLS:CPR/FA (or student must have current

certification in CPR)• Emergency Oxygen for Injured Divers• HMLI• Neurological Assessment

No changes

New DAN First Aid Programs To Debut This Year Continued from Page 1

DEMP and Diving First Aid for Profes-sional Divers composite programs will be released in the summer. Full implementa-tion of the new programs is required by July 1, 2012. A mandatory update for all DAN Instructors and DAN Instructor Trainers to review the program changes is

required by June 30, 2012. (See additional notes about the updates in this issue.)

A summary chart of the upcoming changes is shown below for quick reference.