Underwater Operations

O2 / CPR & First Aid

Promoting dive safety through education is at the core of DAN’s mission. We offer first-class dive safety training and education to divers, dive professionals, dive center operators and medical professionals. Developed by dive medicine physicians and diving educators, DAN’s courses are easy to understand and designed to provide you with the skills and confidence you need to respond in emergencies. DAN first aid courses prepare people to manage injuries related to scuba diving as well as those that occur in other settings. All courses are ILCOR & AHA Compliant. We provide Courses for the Professional Diver & Health Care Provider. 

Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid (BLS)

This fundamental course prepares you to provide proper care for life-threatening illnesses or injuries until professional emergency medical care is available. The life-support skills taught in this course include one-person CPR, use of automatic external defibrillators, bleeding management, assisting a choking victim and responding to a person in shock. The first aid skills taught include conducting secondary assessments, splinting and responding to medical emergencies.

This course is also approved by the U.S. Coast Guard as meeting the CPR and first aid requirements for captain and mate licenses.

Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries (EO2)

Administering emergency oxygen is the preferred first aid for scuba diving injuries, and early administration can drastically improve the outcome for an injured diver. The DAN Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries course teaches you how to administer life-saving oxygen first aid to divers who may be suffering from decompression illness (DCI). Additionally, this course will teach you how to recognize the signs and symptoms of decompression illness and respond to them accordingly. The emergency response skills taught in this course are not unique to scuba diving; they’re applicable to many other watersports and other activities.

Note: Current DAN BLS: CPR & FA, CPR: HCP provider or other nationally recognized full CPR training is prerequisite to this course

First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries (HMLI)

Whether you venture into the ocean or simply consume food from it, hazardous marine life injuries can happen. Learn how to properly assess and handle these situations if they occur despite your efforts to prevent them in DAN’s First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries course will give you the knowledge you need to identify specific types of marine life injuries and the first aid skills to treat them.

Neurological Assessment (Neuro)

DAN’s Neurological Assessment course teaches you how to properly manage injuries with neurological implications. You will learn to recognize these injuries and properly perform a neurological assessment. You’ll also learn what information to collect and relay to emergency medical services. Recognizing symptoms and responding quickly can shorten recovery times and improve long-term outcomes.

Diving Emergency Management Provider (DEMP)

People who are interested in understanding first aid care for a variety of diving scenarios are encouraged to take the Diving Emergency Management Provider course. This course focuses specifically on diving injuries and provides divers and their surface support teams with first aid training for interim care until emergency medical services are available. The course integrates the knowledge and skills from four core DAN first aid courses (BLS: CPR & FA, EO2, Neuro, and HMLI) into a single course to focus on first aid care specifically for dive-related events.

Courses For Professional Divers & Health Care Providers

Professional divers have unique responsibilities and a duty to respond to unique situations; their first-aid training should not be any less unique.  Our courses are designed for commercial, professional, aquarium and scientific divers, and it provides knowledge and first-aid skills specifically for these work environments.  The DFA Pro is also approved by the U.S. Coast Guard as meeting the CPR and first aid requirements for captain and mate licenses. It has also been accepted by the American Camp Association for staff CPR and first aid requirements.

CPR: Health Care Provider with First Aid (HCP)

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, and witnessing a cardiac emergency in a diving context or your daily life is not unlikely. Taking the DAN CPR: Health Care Provider with First Aid course will help prepare you to handle these events and other life-threatening incidents.

This course will teach you one- and two-person CPR for adults, children and infants. It also covers how to check vital signs and teaches suctioning skills that may be necessary to protect an injured person’s airway, especially in aquatic environments.

Diving First Aid for Professional Divers (DFA Pro)

Professional divers have unique responsibilities and a duty to respond to unique situations; their first-aid training should not be any less unique. DAN’s Diving First Aid for Professional Divers course is designed for commercial, professional, aquarium and scientific divers, and it provides knowledge and first-aid skills specifically for these work environments. It is the most comprehen¬sive first aid course in the dive industry, and taking this course gives Divemasters and dive instructors an indis-pensable set of risk-mitigation skills.

DFA Pro includes all elements of all DAN core first aid courses plus additional information and resources applicable to dive professionals in a variety of settings. This course is also approved by the U.S. Coast Guard as meeting the CPR and first aid requirements for captain and mate licenses. It has also been accepted by the American Camp Association for staff CPR and first aid requirements.

Become An Instructor

Interested in joining the DAN team as an instructor? Check out our programs for becoming an instructor or crossing over from another agency.

First Response Training International provides CPR, First Aid, and Layperson Rescue Training for caregivers, personal trainers, construction workers, and anyone else who potentially may need these life-saving skills. Our training is highly effective because it combines eLearning with focused hands-on skills development – a proven, efficient way to learn how to save lives.  Our trainings meets all international standards, is OSHA* and ILCOR compliant, and has been accepted by the United States Coast Guard (USCG).

Adult, Child, & Infant Emergency Care

Get comprehensive, easy to follow training on Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid, and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) administration for adults, children, and infants.

Child & Infant Emergency Care

Perfect for parents, teachers, nannies, and daycare professionals! Learn how to deliver life-saving aid to children & infants.

Airborne Pathogens Workplace Training

Pathogens such as coronavirus, the flu and others can spread quickly in the workplace. For this reason, it is imperative that companies take all of the necessary precautions to ensure the workplace stays safe.

Workplace CPR & AED

From construction sites and gyms to offices and restaurants and everything in between, no matter where you work, you could encounter someone experiencing cardiac arrest while you’re on the job. Will you know what to do?

Bloodborne Pathogens

If you’re a lifeguard, babysitter, parent, or otherwise at risk of being exposed to blood or materials containing blood, learn how to protect yourself and others from bloodborne pathogens.

O2 Administration

SCUBA divers, dive professionals, and boat staff, become more well-rounded rescuers and learn how to how administer oxygen as an emergency procedure.

Underwater Citizen Science Program

To enter the program you must be certified as an Advanced Adventure and Rescue Diver.  You will begin training in Phase I and accumulate training hours in each phase.  Until you have the necessary hours to participate in the Research Diver, or Underwater Citizen Scientist or  Scientific Diver Course.

Phase 1 – Safety Procedures & Techniques

Select from the following courses to complete a minimum of 40 hours or a maximum of 63 hours.

Full Face Mask

The Full Face Mask Course provides the skills and knowledge for the diver to utilize full face masks.

SDI Advanced Buoyancy Diver

This specialty is designed to increase the open water diver’s understanding of the factors that influence buoyancy, and to train the diver how to use the means available to him as methods for controlling his buoyancy.

Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) Diver

Adding another layer of safety, you can also use the DSMB line to complete your safety stop, which is advantageous in a current or when there are no other visual references.

Self-Reliant Diver

Although diving with a buddy is the norm, there are reasons for an experienced diver to develop self-reliance and independence while diving. Learning to carry out dives without a partner can make you a stronger diver in most dive situations.

Dive Theory

Take a deep dive into the science of scuba to expand your knowledge and prepar for the Science Program.

Equipment Specialist

The PADI Equipment Specialist course teaches you to manage basic repairs and adjustments. You’ll also learn more about how your gear works, making you more comfortable with it and better prepared to fix equipment problems.

SDI Computer Nitrox

This course will cover the use of nitrox mixtures from 22 to 40 percent oxygen.

Phase II – Scientific Methods & Data Gathering

Select from the following courses to complete a minimum of 40 hours or a maximum of 73 hours

PADI Underwater Naturalist

Get a better understanding about the local ecosystem and the differences between terrestrial and aquatic worlds.

Coral Reef Conservation

This course helps you appreciate the complexity of coral reef habitats and teaches how you can help conserve these vital systems.

Project AWARE Specialist

The Project AWARE Specialty course is an introduction to the global AWARE movement for ocean protection. It focuses and expands on the 10 Tips for Divers to Protect the Ocean Planet. Through interactive discussions, you’ll learn how you can make a difference for ocean protection every time you dive or travel.

SDI Marine Eco Systems Awareness Diver

This specialty is designed to increase the open water diver’s understanding of marine environments, the problems facing these unique ecosystems, and the role that diver’s play in protecting our marine resources.

SDI Hunter / Collector Diver

The purpose of this specialty course is to actively allow the student to engage in the collection of certain marine objects and to demonstrate and explain the necessary rules of underwater hunting.

Macroalgae Identification

Macroalgae play important roles in the ecology of coral reefs. Could be important idicattors of coral reefs status. Learn to recongnize what type of algae you see.

PADI Fish Identification

Once you learn to recognize what types of fish you see, you’ll find it easier to reference the exact species after a scuba dive.

AWARE Shark Conservation

This course explores why they are vulnerable, the importance of a healthy shark population, managing threats and how to take action to protect them.

Dive Against Debris Specialty

Learn about the problems of marine debris, conducting Dive Against Debris surveys, and how divers are a part of the solution to keeping our oceans clean.

Phase III – Scientific Protocols & Self Sufficiency

Select from the following courses to complete a minimum of 40 hours or a maximum of 80 hours

Seagrass Monitoring

Seagrasses are underwater flowering plants that often occur in vast meadows and provide nurseries, shelter, and food for a variety of commercially, recreationally, and ecologically important species.

Coral Reef Restoration Course

Learn what is a coral farm, how to cleaning and diving protocols I the coral farm with emphasis in buoyancy control.

Reef Check EcoDiver Certification Course

The Reef Check EcoDiver program combines education with action to give scuba diver volunteers a unique experience while taking an active role in conserving the world’s reefs.

PADI CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty

This Distinctive Specialty course highlights the impact of coral bleaching and provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to identify coral health and record data.

AGRRA monitoring protocol

Learn how to perform a AGRRA Benthos Survey, Coral Condition, AGRRA fish survey and prepare your equipment for the surveys.

Solo Diver

SDI’s Solo Diving is the practice of self reliant scuba diving without a “dive buddy.”

Phase IV– Standards, Techniques & Examination

Course options will be established based on the number of hours accumulated by the candidate and the number of dives completed to date.

SDI Research Diver

The purpose of this specialty course is to acquaint the open water diver with the fascinating topic of research diving.

Underwater Citizen Science Diver Certification Program

Our Program trains and supports students, technicians, and volunteers in the use of underwater techniques and technology necessary to safely conduct their research in underwater environments.

Through the promulgation of effective standards, thorough training, and broad science support and oversight, our Citizen Scientific Diving Program promotes diving safety and scientific productivity.

Scientific Diving Certification Program

Scientific diving programs allow research diving teams to operate under an exemption from OSHA commercial diving regulations. To become a certified scientific diver, persons must meet training standards higher than for entry level recreational diving and demonstrate acceptable levels of competence.

Our scientific diver training meets the standards of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS).  Standards require a minimum of 200 hours of theoretical and practical training. These may be achieved through a scientific diver course, a combination of our Underwater Citizen Science Program courses and advanced recreational dive training.

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