So you want to become a dive instructor?

Congratulations on successfully completing the prerequisite requirements needed to enrol on your PADI Instructor Development course (IDC). We look forward to expanding your instructional skills and toning your leadership techniques to not only become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor but also to give you a helping hand into the diving industry.

Before your PADI IDC begins I have some recommendations which will help make life easier for you during the program. The 10 day IDC program is extremely intensive. The pace, while we try and make everyone as relaxed as possible, is full on. That means that there will be little ( if any) time to do much else during this time. My best recommendation would be to reduce yourself of as many distractions as possible.

 Please make sure that you have all the required materials well before the beginning of the course (List enclosed) You should have purchased a PADI IDC candidate work book ( if you do not have a work book you can purchase this directly through PADI). You will need to complete all sections in the workbook "independent study" section and fill in ALL knowledge reviews. This will reduce extra work load during the IDC for you, so you can focus on preparing class, pool and open water lesson plans. THERE WILL NOT BE TIME FOR YOU TO DO THESE DURING THE COURSE! - It is a PADI entry requirement that you have these knowledge reviews completed before the start of the course.

All the staff and myself will be here to assist you in every way for you to be successful in both your IDC and IE (and beyond). But if you do not do your part in adequately preparing beforehand, this will only hamper you in your efforts to be successful.

 If you have ANY queries, questions or comments on either the work book or anything before the IDC do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone on 027 2782250.

 I look forward to helping you become a PADI Instructor! GOOD LUCK!!

IDC and AI Course Prerequisites

To enroll in an IDC or Assistant Instructor course, an individual must:

1.      Be certified as a PADI Divemaster or hold a leadership level certification with another recreational diver training organization. An individual with leadership level certification with another diver training organization can be:

1. an instructor member in good standing with one of the following organizations: BSAC (Club Instructor or higher), CMAS (one star Instructor or three star diver), FAUI, IDEA, Los Angeles County, MDEA, NAUI, PDIC, SSI, SAA (Instructor Grade 2 or higher) or YMCA (others may qualify – contact PADI for verification).
2. Or, a diver with proof of certification in diver supervision and management including proof of rescue diving certification.

2.      Be at least 18 years old.

3.      Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement for a diving medical examination conducted within the past 12 months. A licensed physician must sign the form and state that the candi date is fit for diving. The physician signing the form may not be the applicant.

4.      Have been a certified diver for at least six months and have completed and logged at least 60 open water scuba dives (as documented in the individual’s log book) and have documentation of experience in deep, night and navigation diving.

Note: To attend an IE, the instructor candidate must have at least 100 logged dives.

5.      Submit proof of CPR and first aid training within the last 24 months.

6.      Submit documentation of any equivalent certification for entrylevel, advanced, rescue and leadership-level issued by another recreational diver training organization. (PADI Members who have these records on file at PADI do not need to resubmit.)

7.      If not a PADI Divemaster, successfully complete the PADI Divemaster course diver rescue skills assessment.

Note: To attend an IE, the instructor candidate must have at least 100 logged dives.

Instructions for PADI Open Water Instructor Course preparation.

Welcome to your instructor development program. There is a lot of reading preparation to do so the sooner you get stuck in the better you will be off. Please note that it is a requirement that ALL knowledge reviews are fully completed BEFORE the start of the course. Below is some instructions and hints to make your preparation a little easier.

In your Instructor Candidate workbook file open to the first section “Independent Learning” 

• READ…. “How to use this Workbook”
• There are 16 Knowledge reviews that need to be completed before the beginning of the course. These are listed in the contents section.
• To be able to complete these knowledge reviews read the text above each knowledge review. It will tell you reference where to source the information to answer the questions.
• There are 7 articles at the back of the “Independent Learning” section to assist also. The rest of the information can be sourced from Instructor manual, Best of Undersea Journal, business of diving, Law & diving professional and other texts listed.

 Instructor Manual Updates 

• Update errata from PADI is available so you can update your Instructor manual. Have a look in the front of your Standards & Procedures section and you will see update dates listed. If your manual is within 3 months of this then it is updated. Most manuals will be at least 4 bulletins out of date. These will need to be updated. Training Standards are always changing so we need to make sure that the manuals are updated regularly. You will need to update your manuals. The instructions on the ‘Training Bulletin updates’ are normally quite self explanatory but if you have any problems don’t worry. Your  Course Director will go over this at the start of the course.

 Recommendation 

• I would also recommend that you have a look over the “Study Tools” section at the back of the IDC candidate workbook. Here there are guidelines for preparing for knowledge development presentations, also confined and open water presentations. There is also standards and academic exams in the back that they can summarise over. This will help refresh your theoretical knowledge.
• There is a lot of information that you will probably not be orientated with – i.e. Working with the RDP wheel and reading about the background on the tables.  Information can be found in the “PADI Recreational Diving Encyclopaedia” and Instructor manual. 
• You will also need to read all manuals from open water through to Divemaster. This will orientate you with the course structures and the information enclosed in the manuals.
• Have a look at all the water skills taught on the o/w course (section 2 “confined water” in Instructor manual). There may be a few skills there you are not familiar with. Take this time to get familiar with them.

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) Course

The purpose behind the PADI OWSI course is for people who already hold a PADI  Assistant Instructor rating who wish to further their certification to full Instructor status. 

To enrol in an OWSI, an individual must:

1.  Be a current PADI Assistant Instructor (or instructor member in good standing with another recreational diver training organisation for at least six months see Instr Crossover).

2.  Be at least 18 years of age.

3. Submit medical clearance for diving signed by a physician, attesting to fitness to dive. The medical clearance must be current within the previous 12 months.

4. Have been a certified diver for at least six months and have completed and logged at least 60 dives.

5. Submit proof of CPR and first aid training within the last 24 months.

(The Emergency First Response course is highly recommended and may be used to meet this requirement.)

  Note: To attend an IE, the instructor candidate must have been a certified diver for at least 6 months and have at least 100 logged dives.

OWSI Course Details

 Required Materials:

Ø     Instructor Manual

Ø     Instr Candidate Workbook

Ø     Law and The Diving Professional

Ø     Best of The Undersea Journal

Ø     The Business of Diving

Ø     Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Instructor Outline

Ø     Project AWARE Specialty Instr Outline

Ø     PADI O/W Diver Manual

Ø     RDP Wheel and Table, and Instructions for Use

Ø     Adventures in Diving

Ø     PADI Rescue Diver Manual

Ø     PADI Divemaster Manual

Ø     Aquatic Cue Cards – Confined Water and Open Water

Ø     Conf Water Lesson Prep slate

Ø     O/W Training Dive Plan slate

Ø     Log Book

Ø     O/W,Rescue & DM Quizzes and Exam booklet

Ø      

 Handy Hints:

 There is no component in this course for theory development in the 5 areas of which you will be evaluated on in the IE (Physics, Physiology, Equipment, Gen Skills & Environment, RDP ) It is strongly advised that adequate preparation is done in these areas before the OWSI. Also please note that it is essential to your success that you are oriented with the RDP ( Recreational Dive Planner table and Wheel). This can be done through home study by reading the PADI Divemaster manual section 5 ‘Decompression theory and the RDP’ and also the PADI Encyclopaedia of recreational diving  tables section. If you require additional tutoring then this can be arranged. Please let us know this.

 PADI Instructor Examination

Purpose and Goal

The purpose of the PADI Instructor Examination is to evaluate if an instructor candidate’s knowledge and skills are sufficient to earn a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor certification. The IE is an evaluative program that tests the instructor candidate’s teaching ability, dive theory knowledge, water skill level, understanding of the PADI System, attitude and professionalism. The goal is to objectively evaluate the instructor candidate’s ability to meet the certification criteria. PADI IE’s are standardised evaluations that are conducted by Instructor Examiners who work for the various PADI Offices. The IE location, testing environment and evaluation sessions are selected to ensure the most conducive setting possible for assessing instructor candidate abilities. An instructor candidate who meets the IE performance requirements earns a PADI Instructor certification (as long as all other prerequisite requirements are met).

Areas of Evaluation and Examination Policy

To successfully complete an IE, an individual must:

1.      Score 75% or higher on all five sections of the dive theory exam. Only one makeup on one section is allowed.

2.      Score 75% or higher on the systems, standards and procedures exam. No makeup is allowed.

3.      Score a 3.5 or higher on an assigned academic teaching presentation. One makeup presentation is allowed passing makeup score is 3.5 or higher.

4.      Score a 3.4 or higher on an assigned confined water teaching presentation. One makeup presentation is allowed  passing makeup score is 3.4 or higher. Score an average of 3.5 or higher on two assigned open water teaching presentations. Because the scores are averaged, no makeup’s are allowed.

5.      Swim facedown and non-stop for 732 metres/800 yards using a mask, snorkel and fins. One makeup is allowed. (This is done as part of your OWSI)

6.      Demonstrate competence in the rescue of a scuba diving victim simulating unconsciousness/ nonbreathing at the surface. One makeup is allowed.

7.      Score a total score of 15 points or higher on five skill demonstrations. One makeup of all five skills is allowed only if one skill demonstration was less than 3.0. Passing makeup score is 15 points or higher again.

8.      Demonstrate competence with all dive skills during confined water and open water sessions.

9.      Demonstrate professional behaviour, attitude and actions during all phases of the IE.

PADI reserves the right to modify these criteria as necessary.

The cost of the PADI IDC registration is $150au and IE fees is $650au. This is paid to PADI directly.

If you have any questions or are in any doubt please contact Pete Mesley 027 278 2250

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Email: info@petemesley.com