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Diving Safety

The PADI Divemaster Course

At Mermaids CDC (Dive Career Development Center), Pattaya, Thailand, we have been training PADI Dive masters since 1990 and our highly qualified and experienced dive staff will help you get the most out of your dive training. We take the training very seriously obviously with serious amount of fun thrown in. Our training has been deemed as the most comprehensive in Thailand by those that know our methods. We treat our Dive master intern candidates like customers, not like slaves, so you can focus on learning the material and not on carrying tanks.

There is a common misconception that the "internship" option is the "free" Dive master course, this is not true. With the internship you work with actual students as opposed to shop staff simulating students. We feel the internship provides a far better learning experience and it is the only option we teach. We love to train PADI divemasters but place the emphasis on great dive training and the fact that there is much more to being a dive master than possessing the certification card.

Many divemaster candidates don't realize that their instructor level training begins with the PADI Dive-master course. The PADI Instructor Development Program assumes that all components of the Divemaster course have been mastered and does not re-cover any of the confined waters skills or knowledge development. The PADI IDC assumes you got a good dive master course, so you owe it to yourself to get one! A lot of the DM knowledge and skills are tested in the Instructor Examination.

Dive Master Course prerequisites:

• Be a certified PADI Rescue Diver or have an equivalent rating. (If equivalent candidate must submit proof of CPR and first aid training within the past 24 months.)
• Have completed and logged at least 20 dives as documented by the individual's personal logbook. Note: at least 60 dives are required to complete the program.
• Be at least 18 years old at the start of training.
• Submit medical clearance for diving signed by a physician, attesting to fitness to dive.

Schedule:

Much of the Dive master learning is self-directed and while the motivated candidate can complete the DM program in two weeks, allowing a month makes for a more relaxed pace and gives plenty of time for all the dive course objectives to be met. Our dedicated Dive Master internship program here in Thailand is 3 months in length inclusive of everything from accommodation, all training aids, manuals and fees and even a full set of diving equipment to keep if you do not have your own.

Required materials (supplied):

• PADI Divemaster Manual.
• The PADI Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving.
• The PADI Diving Knowledge Workbook.
• PADI Instructor Manual. (Supplied if continuing to IDC (Instructor Development Course) program).

Course Requirements

Experience:

The candidate must have completed and logged at least 60 dives as documented by the individual's personal logbook. These dives must include experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation. We stipulate the minimum of 60 dives but the internship approach will ensure approximately 100 dives for the student.

Knowledge Development:

• Candidates must read the PADI Dive-master Manual and complete all the Knowledge Reviews
• There are eight exams:
  • Physics.
  • Physiology and First Aid.
  • Equipment.
  • Decompression Theory and the RDP (Recreation Dive Planner)
  • Dive Skills and the Environment.
  • Supervising Activities for Certified Divers.
  • Supervising Student Divers in Training.
  • PADI Divemaster Conducted Programs.

• Each dive master candidate must complete an Emergency Assistance Plan. This is essentially an emergency plan for evacuation and assistance in the unlikely event of a diving accident.

Stamina and Water Skills:

Candidates must perform four exercises. Points are awarded from 1-5 based on candidate performance, a minimum of 12 points are required to pass.

1. The candidate must swim 400 meters/yards without stopping using no swimming aids and using any stroke or combination of strokes desired.
2. Using no aids and wearing only a swimsuit, the candidate will stay afloat by treading water, drown proofing, bobbing or floating for 15 minutes, with hands (not arms) out of the water during the last 2 minutes.
3. Using a mask, fins, snorkel and swimsuit only (no BCD or flotation aids) and swimming with the face in the water, the candidate must swim nonstop for 800 meters / yards.
4. Wearing full scuba equipment, the candidate must push or tow an inert diver in full scuba at the surface 100 meters/yards nonstop without assistance.

Rescue Assessment:

Candidates must perform a simulated rescue of an unresponsive, non-breathing diver. The exercise is pass/fail, but the candidate's performance must be of demonstration quality. Being a divemaster in training you'll be assisting with many rescue diver courses ensuring that your skills are sharp and honed.

Skill Demonstration:

Candidates must demonstrate the PADI 18 Basic Scuba Skills. Points are awarded from 1 to 5 with a total of 63 points required to pass.

Required Training Exercises:

• Mapping Project.
• Dive Skill circuit.
• Equipment Exchange. (Exchanging full equipment whilst buddy breathing at about 5 meters in depth - character building)
• Divemaster Conducted Program.

Dive Internship Requirements:

Divemaster candidates must participate in at least:

• One PADI Open Water Diver course confined water session.
• Four additional confined water training sessions from any PADI course or program.
• One PADI Open Water Diver course open water training dive.
• One PADI Adventures in Diving, Rescue Diver or PADI Specialty Diver course open water training session.
• Three additional open water training dives from any PADI course or program.
• One supervisory situation with certified divers not in a formal course. 

We state the very least requirements but here in our Thailand divemaster internship extensive experience shall be gained in all areas.

Next Dive Course: IDC - Instructor Development Course. This encompasses the AI - Assistant Instructor Course and prepares you fully for the IE (Instructor Examination) to become a fully licensed PADI Scuba Diving Instructor or OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor). Check out the "Diving Instructor Internship" package for full details.

All Mermaids dive professionals (Divemaster +) are automatically members of Divers-jobs placements service. It is important to Mermaids that our dive job placement service receive as much attention form us as the dive training itself. Since October 2006, Mermaids have had an exclusive partnership with 'Divers jobs' allowing the very best dive jobs and scuba diving employment offered to our divers before going to public domain. Starting a scuba dive career has never been more seamless.