ScubaGuru

Expert Advice & Best Practices for Scuba Diving Professionals

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About ScubaGuru.com
  • Contact Page
  • Library
  • Blog
    • History
    • Physics
    • Physiology
    • Equipment
    • Environment
    • Training
  • APP
  • League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast
  • The Dive Locker Podcast
  • Book Club
Home » RSTC

140 Bravo To The New RSTC/UHMS Diver Medical Form

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we learn about the newest revision of the RSTC/UHMS diver medical form.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

Well, the Diver Medical Screen Committee has been busy improving the diver Medical Screening Form that most of us use as dive professionals. This committee has been supported by UHMS Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society, the RSTC Recreational Scuba Training Council and WRSTC, DAN US and DAN Europe and the Hyperbaric Medicine Division, at Univ of California, San Diego.

This latest form has some really great changes that are very important to you as a dive professional. Why? Because whatever level of dive pro you are, chances are you will be administering this form to students and divers at some point. And it is important for you to know what are some of these elements that are being asked, especially the new items in this latest revision.

Items In This Episode

  • COVID changes
  • Developmental disabilities changes
  • uhms.org

Episode Sponsor

If you find this show adds value to you as a dive pro and you’d like to help support the show, please consider supporting it on Patreon. It’s only $4 per month – that’s only $1 per episode. When you become a supporter of The Dive Locker you’ll get a shout out from me on the next episode after you join. You will also be listed on the Patrons of Dive Locker Podcast webpage. And you will receive 10% off any ScubaGuru Academy course at the Patron level, and 20% off at the Rockstar level. And of course my undying appreciation for helping support the show.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/divelocker/140_Bravo_To_The_New_RSTC_UHMS_Diver_Medical_Form.mp3

Podcast (thedivelocker): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: The Dive Locker Podcast Tagged With: DAN, RSTC, WRSTC

130 Is Wearing a Wetsuit During a Swim Test a Standards Violation?

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we learn about how wearing a wetsuit during a swim test could be a standards violation.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

This past weekend as we were conducting divemaster training at the lake, a couple dive centers were conducting swim tests with their open water diver students. The remarks came up as our divemasters in training looked on. “They look so bouyant.” “They’re literally just floating and doing nothing to stay afloat.” “Are you allowed to wear wetsuits during the swim test?”

Needless to say we are proud of our young leaders when they sense that things aren’t right. And from that an outstanding discussion about standards ensued. Thus the title of this episode. Is Wearing a Wetsuit During a Swim Test a Standards Violation? The answer is there’s a right way and a wrong way. And I’m gonna ask you to share this episode with anyone you know who does swim tests with students wearing wetsuits. The reason why is that many pro’s are actually violating swim test standards doing this.

Items In This Episode

  • Swimming test standards of RSTC, SSI and PADI
  • Must be neutrally buoyant when wearing exposure suits

Episode Sponsor

If you find this show adds value to you as a dive pro and you’d like to help support the show, please consider supporting it on Patreon. It’s only $4 per month – that’s only $1 per episode. When you become a supporter of The Dive Locker you’ll get a shout out from me on the next episode after you join. You will also be listed on the Patrons of Dive Locker Podcast webpage. And you will receive 10% off any ScubaGuru Academy course at the Patron level, and 20% off at the Rockstar level. And of course my undying appreciation for helping support the show.

https://www.patreon.com/thedivelocker

Thanks For Listening!

That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com . There you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/divelocker/130_Is_Wearing_a_Wetsuit_During_a_Swim_Test_a_Standards_Violation_.mp3

Podcast (thedivelocker): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: The Dive Locker Podcast Tagged With: PADI, RSTC, SSI, standards, Swim Test, wetsuit

074 When Can You Refuse A Physician Signed Medical Form?

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we discuss when dive professionals can refuse to teach a student with a physician signed medical form.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

It is great to have you here. Now since you’re a dive professional you are no doubt using the RSTC generated Medical Statement, the majority of you are at least. So as you know, a student for any certification course must fill out the statement and if there are any YES answers the student must get a physician’s approval to dive and to participate in your class. Sounds pretty cut and dry right? Well not in every situation.

What happens when a student gets a properly signed medical form by a physician but your still not comfortable teaching that student with the particular medical conditions he or she has? What about if the physician writes something in their remarks observations paragraph or attaches a letter or note telling you what the student can or can’t do? Or, what if the student tells you that he or she had to go to several physicians before one would sign it? Hmmm. These are all interesting situations and we are going to go over when you can and should say yes or no to someone that presents a physician signed medical form.

RSTC Diver Medical

So the more teaching experience you get the more medicals are going to pass through you. And the more unique situations with medicals are also gonna pop up. Just so we’re all on the same page you will use the RSTC diver medical form for use with beginner courses and continuing education courses.

This Diver Medical use to be called the Medical Statement. And the most recent revision by DAN, WRSTC, RSTC and UHMS has really made a fantastic change to the way we screen students for fitness to dive. For more on these changes listen to Episode 31 with Dr. Nick Bird as he describes the new medical form.

But sometimes there are issues. Issues that you don’t get a good feeling about. These come in a variety of situations. For example once I had a student who forged his physician’s signature.

Another time a student who had all no’s but then took his shirt off to put on a wetsuit and there was a scar from his throat to the bottom of his abdomen. He had open heart surgery and did not list that anywhere.

So yes, there are some that lie to cover up. You may catch them or you may not. My thing is that I stress repeatedly in my classes the need for absolute truth and accuracy on these forms because there is nothing to see underwater that is worth risking your life over.

So I do everything in my power today to strongly emphasize students being truthful on their medical forms.

When You’re Uncomfortable Teaching a Student With a Medical Condition

But the heart of this episode is what if the student is truthful, gives a positive yes response to a condition and then gets a physician’s signature that allows them to take your class. But you’re not comfortable with that.

Maybe its that the person is presenting signs and symptoms or acting in a behavioral manner that you know will be not only challenging for them or the other student or for you, but more importantly safety becomes questioned. We get challenging students all the time, I’m talking where that student could actually challenge the safety of themselves and or others.

Last year a student presented with severe anxiety and depression – medication for it ongoing counseling and more – the physician signed and then noted scuba diving could be a positive activity for this Patient. I did not feel comfortable with the level of issues this student was presenting to me. So we had a very open dialogue about what she will be going through and how her actions can impact others. She agreed that diving was not for her until she resolved her issues to a more manageable level. She also said her doctor who signed her form loved to dive, thus thought it would be good for the patient. This clearly wasn’t the right thing to engage in.

Now, you say but Tec you’re not a physician how can you question that – are we not to interfere? Well wait a minute, when a student presents a yes, you don’t get to play physician and say “oh you don’t need a physicians signature, that’s nothing”. But you can refuse to accept thus teach a student with a physician signed medical form. You are granted this by certification agencies because you must be comfortable teaching someone diving courses. If your not comfortable teaching someone you must articulate
the reason or reasons why. But you can say no, even if the student has a signed medical.

Strategies for Proper Medical Screening

Now here are a couple other strategies that I apply. First, I consult with Divers Alert Network Medical Line that number is 919-684-2948 put this in your phone. I always consult with them on complex cases. And I also invite the student to contact them as well and talk directly with them about their issues. Many times the medics have been very persuasive and helped a student make the right decision to not take a class OR to see a diving physician.

Which is another strategy. Sometimes I see a clearance to dive signature given by a physician at an urgent care or clinic or pediatrician or family practitioner and I wonder did that doctor actually go to the UHMS.org website to research this students condition as it relates to diving. Because in some cases they have approved someone with a Severe Risk condition.

Now let me explain that and how the doctors are to evaluate the yes answers on the patients medical history.

So if I believe a physician did not really read over the UHMS Diving Medical Guidance Form, then I refer to a diving physician. I have our local ones info ready to give to students. You can find them on the DAN Physician Network. This is great for sending students that you think could benefit from a physician with specialized knowledge in diving, and alternobaric maybe even hyperbaric medicine. So that is another strategy to help a student be properly screened.

And the final strategy that I do, is contact the risk management department of the training agency I’m certifying with. Often, the training agency will give you advice. And in some cases they can assist you when the answer is a NO, They are quick to say let the student be mad at us not you. That is really helpful when you have the agency giving you advice and even supporting your decision. So definitely use the training agency when you have a questionable medical.

What Are Conditionals?

Now what if you have a student with a yes, who gets a physicians signature and approval to dive but that doctor writes on the form or supplements it with a note or letter that gives you instructions? Well, this is called a conditional. And they are normally a no go. But it depends on what the doctor has written. If the doctor writes a note along with approval that says “patient agrees that if symptoms return, he will discontinue diving activities”. Well that is a conversation between the doctor and patient, it is on the patients shoulders to comply with what the physician has said. And it does not impact you , the pro, at all.

On the other hand if the note says, “patient shouldn’t do deep diving” “patient shouldn’t be in water for extended periods” “patient shouldn’t be in cold water”. Well there is no definition for deep or extended periods or cold. What are we talking about. You see, that could change the way you perform your classes. And since we have standards, these conditionals can become problematic for you. So whenever your faced with a conditional feel free again contact your training agency. Their risk management department should be able to tell you if that is a true conditional or not.

Now sometimes a conditional could say diver should not dive past 80 feet. But they are signing up for your Open Water Diver course, your limited to 60 feet on that. So could you do it, well some say yes, some say no. And I lean a little toward the no. Because that conditional exist beyond the divers training with you, but then they are on their own. Will they follow those instructions or not? Most conditionals make me uncomfortable. So again, get some advice from your training agency if you are uncomfortable.

Physician Shopping

And then what if your student tells you they had to see a few physicians before one would sign their form. Oh, why is the question. It could be that no one was comfortable or it could be the policy of some medical practices to not give approvals to dive. So it would be good to find out why and then, utilize the strategies of DAN medics and diving physicians to assist you in the screening process.

ADA

And finally we’ll close with this. ADA, is the Americans with Disabilities Act. They fight for people who have been discriminated due to their physical condition. You might have someone who is morbidly obese, and they receive a yes from their physician. But you are just uncomfortable teaching this person.

If you say no, they might fire back with ADA compliance issues. Again, you should consult with your training agency when your not comfortable so that they can assist you in your decision and keep you out of ADA issues. They would help you state that operationally, you are concerned that you would physically not be able to get the individual out of the pool in an emergency. And the rental wetsuits are not going to fit, and we can’t have you take the class without exposure protection.

There has to be a well articulated message that states these things. Plus, other professionals can come to your defense saying it is not because your morbidly obese, it is because your obesity makes you not fit to dive. Again, going back to that one physician might feel scuba is a nice activity to help someone lose weight and be active. But another physician might understand the multiple risks associated with obesity and diving and be able to make it a medical concern, not an ADA compliance issue.

In Conclusion

So there you have it. You do possess the right as a diving professional to refuse to teach any student. Even students who have received an approval to dive by a physician. But the thing is you want to articulate your rationale, you want to use your resources like DAN’s Medic consults, and DAN Physician Network as well as consulting with your training agency. And especially remember that you must be consistent in the way you handle these situations. Have the same process in place each time so that it does not appear you’re playing favorites.


Episode Sponsor

If you find this show adds value to you as a dive pro and you’d like to help support the show, please consider supporting it on Patreon. It’s only $4 per month – that’s only $1 per episode. When you become a supporter of The Dive Locker you’ll get a shout out from me on the next episode after you join. You will also be listed on the Patrons of Dive Locker Podcast webpage. And you will receive 10% off any ScubaGuru Academy course at the Patron level, and 20% off at the Rockstar level. And of course my undying appreciation for helping support the show.

https://www.patreon.com/thedivelocker

Thanks For Listening!

That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com . There you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/divelocker/074_When_Can_You_Refuse_A_Physician_Signed_Medical_Form_.mp3

Podcast (thedivelocker): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: The Dive Locker Podcast Tagged With: ADA, DAN, diving medical, medical form, RSTC, UHMS

001 Introduction to The Dive Locker Podcast

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

The Dive Locker Podcast with Tec Clark

Welcome to The Dive Locker podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

I’m your host Tec Clark and welcome to the very first episode of The Dive Locker podcast. I am so excited to be here and I’m so excited that you are here. Welcome. You know it was put on my heart to create a podcast that was dedicated to dive professionals, divemasters, assistant instructors, instructors, instructor trainers, course directors, faculty. It can be also for dive center owners and managers and operators of dive boats and vessels. Look, if you’re in the diving industry as a leader or a professional, this podcast is for you. Now, what is it that makes this special and why is it relevant to you? It’s because we are going to go over news and information that is for you. Now I’m not talking press releases. There will be some press releases because there are some things that are really good to know in our industry, but not every press release is going to make it onto this podcast.

Why? Because frankly, there are some things that just really don’t need to be expressed to you as a dive professional. It’s need to know, and so if you don’t need to know it, it’s not going to be on here. What we want to do is focus on things that are going to make you better at what you do, and so in this pursuit of excellence, we are going to bring on all kinds of news information and cutting edge topics. We’re going to talk about what is the latest and greatest, but look back at history. What were things that we learned from the past. We’re going to get into even controversial topics at times, things that can be debated and argued and hey look, we’re going to go over that balancing act of the good and the bad of things as well. We’re going to talk to guests and have them come from different agencies, organizations, manufacturers, different businesses.

We’re going to have experts on. They’re giving you their best practices because that is how we are all going to flourish in many, many different areas of what we do in this profession, in this industry, is to hear the best practices and to learn that from the people that are doing it well. And Hey, we may even bring in people from outside the diving industry. If maybe you had expertise in business and it’s a recreational pursuit or whatnot. Hey, we can learn, right? So here’s another thing that’s going to be a unique about this podcast. It’s going to be agency neutral. Now we get really worked up in our industry about our training agencies, right? And we’ve got all this affiliation to one agency or another, or maybe you’ve got a couple under your belt or so forth. The deal is if you’re basing your view on another agency because of, let’s say the dive shop down the road, and the dive shop owner that you don’t particularly care for, or the way that they’re doing things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an agency issue, right?

So what we want to do here is we want to bring agencies to the table so that you’ll hear from training directors, from different agencies that will say, “Hey, here’s what we got going on new”. And you can make your opinions and judgments and get information right from the agency’s mouth. And so that is a really great thing to do. We need to avoid some of the rumor mill that goes on in our industry, right? And you know what I’m talking about? So to hear it in this podcast, from the best of the best in our industry and of the agencies and organizations and manufacturers driving the industry is going to be a really key component of this podcast. So what is the episode’s format’s going to be like, well, what we’re going to do is give this to you every week. So every week you’re going to get a 30 minute episode, approximately 30 minutes so that it is timely and it is bite size and to the point, so you’re on your two mile walk or run or whatever.

You can listen to a 30 minute segment on your two mile walk or at the gym or in your car commute to work or wherever it is that you listen to podcasts. So again, every week we’re going to be launching and it will be 30 minute episodes. We’re going to have different segments. And those segments are going to be all kinds of topics within our industry that relate to you as a dive pro. We’re going to talk about training, we’re going to talk about teaching, we’re going to talk about risk management, and of course the business of diving. We’ll bring in travel. We’re in everything that really does matter to you. And those segments are going to be such a vital part of this. And guess what? Some of those things we’re going to wind up hearing from you. And I’m going to tell you about that in a moment, what that means for you to be involved in these.

But there will be segments that come from you that you have suggested to us and so forth. So I’ll, I’ll talk about that later. And then finally, you’ll also hear from sponsors. You know, it costs money to put on a podcast. And to do that we need sponsors. So you will hear from sponsors that we have occasionally and episodes and that is a really appreciated thing to keep us live and going strong for years to come.

So let’s talk about why this show. Well, I absolutely love our industry. I’ve made it a career. I’ve been a pro for 30 years. The thing is that as an industry we are competing with other outdoor recreations and as the consumer gets to be a little bit more finicky about all the different things that they can do and with health being at an all time high and the abilities of people, they are exploring more options than ever for outdoor recreation, we need to be competitive in that market.

Underwater exploration is awesome, but we need to make it better. And how we do that is located in the way that we teach, the way that we conduct ourselves in business practices, the way that we handle risk. All of these things are going to be so important to how we flourish as an industry. And that starts with the frontline people. So what do I mean by frontline? Well, that’s going to be you, the dive pro, our retailers, our dive operators. And here’s something to think about. According to DEMA, recreational scuba diving and snorkeling contribute about $11 billion to the US Gross Domestic Product. Now that’s a big industry, but our frontline forces, those retailers and dive operators I have been talking about, you professionals rarely have any business training whatsoever. And so you hear that our sport comes from one that is kind of a grassroots and organically built industry where you have people that are so passionate about sharing the underwater world with others that they become a pro.

And they do that in a supervisory capacity like divemasters or an instructional capacity like instructors. And then what they rise up into saying, “hey, let’s look at doing this full time”. And so that might be as a full time independent instructor or hang a shingle and get a dive shop or a dive boat or a shop with a boat, a dive center. And so when we start to look at how these businesses grow, our frontline folks are the ones that are putting this all out there to the consumer. And as my friend Darcy Kieran says, having a dive center is like having six businesses in one. And if you think about it, it’s very true because we have to be able to serve the needs of diving and we have to do that in so many facets. And so how do we do that? Well is going to be one of the keys to the show.

We’re also going to talk about the risk management side of our industry. Now let’s think about this. Our professional liability insurance is rising every year. The cost of teaching and supervising scuba impacts all of us. Now, why is this? Well, frankly it’s because there are claims and these claims are getting paid out and these payouts are affecting the bottom line of the insurance companies that we do our business with. And so as claims arise, the cost of our professional liability policies is rising. So what does that mean folks? It’s simple. It means tightening up on risk management principles and techniques that will make diving safe and will make training safe and dive supervision safe. Most dive professionals think they are doing good at risk management principles, but obviously there are issues. So what we want to do is uncover some of the best practices of risk management so that we not only can be better ourselves, but if we see things that are just going a little wonky out there with other people, hey look, we need to bring that up.

If we don’t police ourselves, then someone will, or teaching scuba in this industry is just going to be cost prohibitive. Again, we can do better and we will through strategies in this podcast and also we can be better at our teaching techniques. A new diver thinks their instructor hung the moon, but how many times have we seen that a new diver that can’t equalize or they have no neutral buoyancy whatsoever or they are 10 pounds over-weighted come on, we can do better than this! You see, we need to share the best practices that make students great products of our services (teaching). So how we can do it better is going to be a big part of this podcast. Not only is it in the pool, it’s in the open water, it’s on the dive boat and it’s in the dive shop, on the show floor. These are the many things that are going to be a part of this podcast.

So who am I the one that’s leading this as your host? Well, many of you know me from the diving industry. Many of you know me from the League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast and for those that I don’t know, I’m pleased to meet you. Tec is my nickname. Thomas E. Clark, Tec has nothing to do with technical diving or technology or anything like that. It’s just my nickname. And I began diving here in Lauderdale by the Sea at the age of 12. Then I went on to get my PADI open water and advanced open water certifications and promptly went to the University of Florida. And in my sophomore year I had to drop a golf class. There was a table, a drop-add table. And there were some instructors there and they said, “hey, are you to diver?

I said, “yes, I am”. They said, “what level of diver are you?” I said, “I’m an advanced diver”, and they said, “all right, well we’ve got a course that’s called assistant instructor. It’s your next level up. Why don’t you take it and it’s two credit hours.” So sure enough, I joined up, took the class and I joined the University of Florida Academic Diving Program and that semester I learned all there was about academic diving and being an assistant instructor. Loved it and promptly went onto my instructor training course. I became a NAUI instructor, a YMCA instructor, a CMAS instructor, and a PADI instructor all at the University of Florida Academic Diving Program. And that was 1988, a long time ago. And so I was able to teach in auditoriums. I spoke at YMCA conventions, NAUI events, I began writing for Currents – that’s the YMCA’s publication and Sources.  NAUI’s publication.  And that really got me to a point where we started to realize as young men and women at the University of Florida that we were doing some special things and we really were passionate about teaching.

Well, my mom got cancer and I decided to move back home to be with her. When I was back home in Fort Lauderdale, I joined up with a local dive shop called Orbit Marine Sports in Pompano Beach. I was divemastering and I was instructing and working the dive shop, but there was more that I wanted. I was giving up cave diving, I couldn’t cave dive anymore. So I was kinda missing my adrenaline and cool stuff to do. So I joined up with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Dive Rescue Team as a volunteer. And so with that I was able to experience the challenging side of public safety diving, but it was also absolutely fascinating, especially for a 21 year old kid.

And so I did that for a couple of years and my mom got good. She was all better with her cancer and I got an invite from the University of Florida to come back and be the managing director of the Academic Diving Program. So I did that and finished my time there while I graduated spent many years at the University of Florida Academic Diving Program and then I received an internship to the YMCA Scuba Program and I moved to Atlanta and went to the headquarters of YMCA Scuba. And there I was able to be an intern, then roll into a consultant, then roll into the assistant director, then roll into the national director all within a two year period. And that was a rich time being with the YMCA allowed me to go to dive centers all over the country, even internationally and teach and learn from others and visit dive centers as well as YMCAs and colleges and universities and their different dive programs.

I was also able to be a part of the RSTC the Recreational Scuba Training Council. That is the organization that’s a secretary of ANSI. You’ve heard of ANSI before, American National Standards Institute. That’s, you know, you see an ANSI sticker on a bike helmet, right? That’s because there are standards in these type of recreational pursuits. And so the RSTC is who creates the minimum standards in our diving industry. So I was able to serve alongside of SSI, PADI, IDEA, and PDIC. It was a fantastic, fantastic way to see the industry from kind of one of the highest levels of gathering together and creating industry standards. At that same time, I got into freediving. Now I always had been a freediver. But at this time it was really neat because we were with CMAS not only at University of Florida, but also YMCA. The YMCA Scuba program was a sanctioning body for CMAS here in the United States.

And with that, CMAS was also doing records for freediving. So I became a freediving judge with CMAS. And my passion just exploded as I was being a judge for record competitions for people like Tanya Streeter and Mehgan Heaney-Grier and Alejandro Ravello and really great upcoming freedivers at the time that were setting national and world records. Well that led to creating the US  Freediving Team. So Mehgan Heaney-Grier and I in 1996 created the first United States Freediving Team and it was great to see that team flourish, especially the women getting a Gold at the Pacific Cup of freediving in the early 2000’s. I also had a passion for safety and so teaming up with Divers Alert Network and becoming a trainer with them was really important to the mission of dive safety and educating others and higher level areas of rescue and risk management and first aid and treatment.

Well that passion rolled into me moving back down to South Florida and becoming a forensic dive accident investigator once my time was done with the YMCA. This was a unique area to be a part of. Yes, this is the CSI of the underwater world. So forensic dive accident investigators work with the insurance companies and attorneys with the insurance companies to process claims and to investigate those claims and to see what can be done and should be done with the dive professionals in the payouts and the claims and potential litigation that goes with that. A really interesting, sometimes very dark side of our sport. Then I was able to join up with Pro Dive, one of the legendary instructor training institutions in the United States and I was able to be a part of a couple of different ownerships of Pro Dive and really look at that company as it grew into a new era.

At that same time, I also was able to launch a ministry in diving. Reef Ministries is a ministry that lookes at the underwater world as the handiwork of God. And so growing up I really had not much of a faith, but getting older and having a wife and kids and just looking at the blessings and the beauty of the underwater world. All of that together just really touched me. And yes, I had a conversion experience and just really resonated with my life as a Christian became something really, really big and important to me. So my faith rose and I decided to turn the gifts that God had given me and diving and kind of help others with that. So I was able to take out church groups and homeschoolers and really explore the underwater world as the handiwork of God. And that was with Reef Ministries and reefministries.com is still going well today.

And then I was able to join up with Nova Southeastern University. Now I took a small gig with them to teach some lessons on the side and all of a sudden the President of the University, Dr. George Hanbury, needed a refresher. So I gave him a refresher and at in his early seventies Dr. Hanbury, I put him through the paces and at the end of our refresher he said, “I learned more in my refresher with you than I learned in my beginning courses. What is that about?” I said, “it’s academic diving and that’s what I did for 10 years at the University of Florida Academic Diving Program. And by the way, Nova Southeastern University with their brilliant oceanographic center should also have an academic diving program too. He said, “write me a proposal.” And seven months later we launched the Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program. And that’s what I also do to this day.

Now I don’t say all of this to toot my own horn, what I’m doing to kind of give you my background is to share with you the great experience that I have in this industry has many different legs to it. And seeing the industry from that view allowed me to see what was going on in many corners of the industry, not only the challenges that we constantly hear about, but also the best practices. And so what I want to do is bring the connections and experiences that I’ve made over a 30 year career in this industry and bring this to you in a podcast that highlights the best practices in our industry and that will make all of us better. That will rise the tide which rises all ships. And so that is one of the big, big, big things about this podcast is how we can do best practices.

So I’m going to invite many people that I’ve had the blessing and honor of working with through the years and being in, in different organizations with, and being on different committees with, and they are also going to be a part of this show. So that’s what this is all about. Best Practices. And by being an active listener yourself, you are part of The Dive Locker Nation. You will be a better dive pro. You’ll be better at teaching techniques, better at risk management and better at dive business. Now remember what I said earlier about how you can be involved? Well, this is where you can simply go to www.scubaguru.com and at scubaguru.com you will find the section for The Dive Locker podcast. When you get onto that page for the dive locker podcast, you’re going to see a microphone icon. Those microphones will be different topics. They could be things that are just about a tip or a technique on a certain area.

It could be on what you want to hear for future episodes. It could be about encouragement for the show or what we could do to improve. Just click on the microphones and start talking. You might be on the podcast! Again, that’s over at www.scubaguru.com The Dive Locker is what you’re looking for. So again, my friends, this is the inaugural episode. I am so excited that you’re here. I’m so excited that we’re launching. There’s more great things to come. This is just the preface of what it is and what the show is about. Next episodes, you’re going to hear all kinds of things that we’ve got lined up for you to be better as a dive pro. So again, I thank you for being here. I thank you for being a part of The Dive Locker Nation and I look forward to serving you every week. So thank you everybody and we’ll see you next time. Take good care and safe diving my friends.

Hi Tec, it’s Stephen Frink. I enjoyed the podcast we worked on together for your League of Extraordinary Divers project and now very much looking forward to The Dive Locker. Good luck.

Hi, this is Dan Orr of Dan Orr Consulting and I just wanted to say best of luck to Tec Clark and his new podcast, The Dive Locker. I have no doubt that it’ll be both enjoyable and extremely informative.

Tec, it’s Mermaid Linden from Mermaids in Motion. I just want to congratulate you on the new ScubaGuru podcast. I’m very much looking forward to listening to it and I think it’s going to be “mermific”. Cheers.

This is Grant Graves of Soggy Science and Pod Aquatics. I want to wish Tec an amazing and successful run with The Dive Locker. Good luck buddy.

Hey TC. It’s Kell from Rainbow Reef. Having been shoved into a lot of lockers as a school boy I’m a little nervous about the new podcast, but I know you’re going to kick butt! Break a leg brother.

Hey there. This is Michael Feld from Oceanblue Dive in New York City, wishing Tec Clark the best of luck with his new podcast.

Hey Tec, Ryan over at Born of Water and Spirit Apparel. I just wanted to say congratulations and good luck on the new podcast and I’m looking forward to listening to the new series.

Hey Tec, this Jack Snively at NAUI headquarters in Tampa, Florida. I was really excited when I heard about your new podcast for dive professionals. I have no doubt that you’re going to touch many lives for the better. Thanks buddy. Good luck.

Hey this is Rachel Cushman, your current Scuba Queen USA and ADSO at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I can’t wait for this new podcast and to listen in on what’s new in The Dive Locker. Good luck!

Aloha. This is Keller Laros, the Manta Man of Kona, Hawaii, and I want to wish Tec Clark great luck with his new podcast, The Dive Locker. Be sure to check it out.

Thanks for Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to leave a comment or suggestion for this podcast? Simply record yourself below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The Dive Locker podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! And, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes , Google Play Music , or Stitcher to get automatic updates.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/divelocker/TDL_001.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: The Dive Locker Podcast Tagged With: CMAS, DAN, DEMA, IDEA, NAUI, PADI, Reef Ministries, RSTC, SSI, YMCA

How to Fill Out the Scuba Medical History Questionnaire

By Tec Clark 2 Comments

Truthfully and accurately completing the Divers Medical Questionnaire is extremely important to divers' health and safety
Truthfully and accurately completing the Divers Medical Questionnaire is extremely important to divers’ health and safety

At the beginning of every scuba class, students are required to fill out a Medical History Questionnaire.  This questionnaire is part of a larger document called the Medical Statement, and this Statement was created by the RSTC (Recreational Scuba Training Council) and is widely used among U.S. scuba training agencies.  The purpose of the Medical History Questionnaire is to find out if the diver should be examined by a physician before beginning scuba training.  So why post an article on how to fill out the form?  Well, over the years as an instructor trainer, dive training agency director, and a forensic diving accident investigator, I have seen countless examples of how the improper use of this form has been extremely harmful (even fatal) to multiple individuals impacted by it.  Both new and seasoned divers, as well as all diving professionals, need to know how important this form is for their own well-being, and the well-being of their instructors, divemasters, students, and dive buddies.

Here are the steps for properly filling out this extremely important document:

Step 1:  Be Truthful – The questionnaire asks if you have had at any time a condition within the list of medical conditions.  If so, you will give a positive response (“YES” answer) to the condition noted.  A positive response to a question does not necessarily disqualify you from diving.  Rather, it shows that there is a pre-existing medical condition that may affect your health and safety when diving with compressed air under varying states of pressure.  Thus, a physician is called upon to examine your ability to proceed with the scuba training or not.

But here is where people get into trouble.  The diver is on vacation and wants to take a scuba course.  He signs up for the course which starts that night.  Upon arriving at the course he fills out the paperwork and the instructor notices a “YES” response to the line “Asthma, or wheezing with breathing, or wheezing with exercise”.  This form now requires a physician’s approval for the individual to continue in the course.  But, how will that happen when it is late afternoon or on a weekend?  Here are the things that go wrong:

  • The diver decides that the episode was when he was a child so he crosses the YES out an writes a NO.  WRONG! The diver had the condition, even as a child, so it must be noted.
  • The instructor recognizes she will lose this diver’s registration in her class and decides to inquire about the condition and whether or not it should really be given a YES.  The instructor finds out the asthma occurred in childhood, and concludes that the diver is fine.  She rips up the form and tells the diver to fill it out again, this time with a NO in the Asthma line.  WRONG! The diving instructor or divemaster is not the physician of the diver, and cannot make a call on a medical condition – only a physician can.

Step 2:  Be Accurate – The Medical Statement can be inaccurate when improperly filled out.  It is important to write the actual words “YES” or “NO” on the Medical History Questionnaire.  Simply writing a “N” or “Y” or even a “–” is not acceptable.  Nor can you write one word and then draw a straight line down the list to in an attempt to include all (see examples).

 

Improper: No abbreviations, dashes, or letters
Improper: No abbreviations, dashes, or letters

Improper: No lines or strikethroughs
Improper: No lines or strikethroughs

Also be sure to fill in every other area a) legibly and b) in detail.  Be as accurate as you can about your physician, or even past physician if you no longer live in the same location and have not seen a new physician.

Sign and date the form properly.

Step 3:  Be Willing to Get a Physician’s Signature – As mentioned in step 1, some people have lied on their diving Medical Statement to forgo obtaining a physician’s signature.  This can have drastic consequences – don’t do it!  If you have a “YES” response to ANY of the items in the Medical History Questionnaire you have a couple options:

  1. Fax the form in its entirety to your physician and ask if he or she will approve you to dive.  If your physician has regularly seen you for checkups and can pull your medical file and review it, chances are your physician will select the appropriate box, sign it,  and fax the forms back to you.
  2. Go see your physician.  You can either go see your physician or go see a new one if you currently don’t have one.  Bring all six pages of the Medical Statement with you.  You will be given a routine check, with perhaps more of a focus on airway, ears, sinuses, and lungs.  This is not generally a Diving Physical Exam – those are more formal and used often for military, commercial, and/or scientific diving purposes.  After your examination your physician will select the appropriate box, sign it, and hand you the forms.

A note on physicians reviewing your eligibility to dive – not all physicians understand the myriad of medical complexities surrounding diving with compressed air in varying pressure environments.  If the physician is a diver, it does not qualify the physician in the areas of Diving Medicine or Hyperbaric Medicine.  However, physicians who are divers may have an increased understanding of the items to consider for healthy diving.  In either case, the last four pages of the Medical Statement are called the “Guidelines for Recreational Scuba Diver’s Physical Examination” and is for the physician to use in determining divers’ medical fitness for scuba diving.  These guidelines help a physician ascertain whether a certain medical condition is a relative risk, a temporary risk, or a severe risk condition in diving.  Make sure the physician has all four pages of the guidelines.

You could also seek a physician with specialized knowledge of diving.  One of the best resources for this is through the Divers Alert Network (DAN) Physician Referral Network.  If you are looking for a physician to conduct a diving physical or would like a consultation from a diving medical specialist in your area simply go to http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/network/physician.

Bottom line:  There is nothing underwater worth risking your life to see.  Be truthful and accurate on your Medical History Questionnaire.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: Blog, Physiology, Training Tagged With: medical form, RSTC

About Tec Clark

Tec Clark is a diving industry expert who has held very elite positions in the dive industry including Managing Director of the University of Florida’s Academic Diving Program and National Director of the YMCA Scuba Program. He holds over 40 professional certifications with over 15 diving agencies. Tec has received numerous honors for his instructional abilities and has co-edited several diving texts. He also appeared as a diving expert on A&E, The Learning Channel, and Outdoor Life Network. He was Captain of the US Freediving Team and is the founder of both Reef Ministries and ScubaGuru.com. Tec is the Associate Director for Aquatics and Scuba Diving at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Read More…

As Seen In

Resources

WHATTHEBUTTONDOES

Tags

Aggressor Adventures BSAC c-card CMAS confined water Cousteau COVID-19 DAN DAN Risk Retention Group Darcy Kieran DeeperBlue DEMA DEMA Show Doug McNeese First Dive Insurance Owl Underwriting Agency Force Blue Fourth Element freediving Gareth Lock GUE Immersion Freediving Kirk Krack Mark Evans mask Mastery of Domain NAUI Ocean Education International PADI Performance Freediving International Professional Liability Insurance RAID RSTC scuba SDI SEI SSI Stream2Sea Ted Harty The Human Diver Tom Ingram UHMS University of Florida Vicencia & Buckley HUB International Willie Cline YMCA

Welcome Dive Professionals

Welcome to ScubaGuru.com!  The ScubaGuru brand is dedicated to giving dive professionals tools and techniques to be GREAT LEADERS – leaders in the classroom, leaders underwater, and leaders in their diving businesses.  With unique leadership skill-sets, the dive professional can create:

  • Better divers
  • Loyal customers
  • A thriving dive center
  • A flourishing dive industry

See what we mean by Go Beyond the Standard and enjoy the rewards of being truly great at what you do!

Sincerely,

Tec Clark

Recent

The Dive Locker Podcast with Tec Clark

158 Everything Speaks About Your Brand with Dennis Snow

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we chat with former Walt Disney World executive turned customer service expert Dennis Snow on how everything speaks about your brand. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast with Tec Clark

157 In-Service Training for Dive Pro’s

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we look at how to set up and implement in-service rescue training for dive professionals. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

156 The Power of Friendliness in Diving Businesses

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we share why friendliness could be the most important value in a diving business. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

155 Making Safety Essential in 2023 with Gareth Lock

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we share a great resource to make dive safety a priority in your diving operations. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

154 Diving Industry Status Report: Post DEMA Show Reflections

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast I give a diving industry status report based on my experiences at the DEMA Show 2022. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

153 What to Expect at The DEMA Show 2022 with Tom Ingram

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we learn all about the upcoming DEMA Show 2022 in Orlando with DEMA President and CEO Tom Ingram. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

152 Interpreting the Ocean Environment Without a Marine Biology Degree

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we look at an outstanding resource to help dive professionals interpret the ocean environment. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast … Continue Reading...

The Dive Locker Podcast

151 Incorporating Weather Into Your Emergency Training Scenarios

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we look at how dive professionals can incorporate weather issues into your emergency training scenarios. Welcome To The Show! Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the … Continue Reading...

LXD062 : Joe Dituri

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Joe Dituri – Hyperbaric Medicine Researcher & Exploration Legend In this episode of The League of Extraordinary Divers I chat with legendary hyperbaric medicine researcher and diving explorer Joe … Continue Reading...

Jeff_Bozanic_ScubaGuru

LXD061 : Jeff Bozanic

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Jeff Bozanic – Scientific Diving Legend In this episode of The League of Extraordinary Divers I chat with legendary scientific diver and explorer Jeff Bozanic. Today's guest is one of the premiere scientific … Continue Reading...

Search

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright 2006-2017 Tec Clark, Inc. · ScubaGuru is a trademark of Tec Clark, Inc. All rights reserved. ·

This site is intended for use by currently certified scuba divers and scuba professionals.
The tips, techniques and recommendations offered herein may not be in compliance with your respective scuba training agency's published training standards and procedures. 
Therefore, content on this site is considered professional advice only and is not a substitute for professionally supervised training. 
Users of this site must agree to the Terms and Conditions.