PADI Rebreather Instructor – Indepth Dive Centre Phuket

Are you ready for some PADI Rebreather Instructor Training?

The PADI Rebreather Instructor Course is unlike the majority of PADI Instructor ratings as it is more like a mini-IDC. Which is slightly different to say a PADI Wreck Diver or Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) Instructor course.

However the good news is that as you are already a PADI Instructor, as you have already passed an IDC and an IE!  And you are obviously already an EANx Instructor and a Deep Instructor. As a result this means that you are understand and are happy with the PADI Evaluation Criteria. Consequently this all makes for a very simply FUN 3 day Rebreather Instructor Course.

So really what you need to do on a Rebreather Instructor Course is learn is the key differences between teaching open circuit courses  (OC) and rebreather courses (CCR). Although “teaching diving” is still obviously “still teaching diving”, there are several additional things for you to think about on a Rebreather Instructor Course. After all, it is a very different experience to teaching an PADI Open Water Course. And there are a number of very important differences and considerations you need to be aware of.

Managing time is one of them. "Logistics" and lots of "little things" tend to take a lot longer when teaching and diving CCR Rebreathers, at least to start with. Diving and teaching rebreathers is also even more fun, but that's another story.

PADI Rebreather Instructor Course Performance Requirements:

1. Candidates attend four Instructor Trainer-led curriculum presentations.
2. Candidates give at least 2 x Confined Water Teaching presentations and 2 x Practical Application presentations. As with the PADI IDC you will also give 2 Knowledge Development presentations. And lastly 1 x Open water Teaching presentation integrating 2 skills.
3. Prior to certification Candidates must give at least one presentation in each of the following areas. Presentations need to earn the following scores or higher.
   a. Knowledge development – 3.5
   b. Confined water – 3.4
   c. Open water – 3.4
4. Candidates also:
   a. Demonstrate mastery by earning a score of 80 percent or higher on the PADI Rebreather and Advanced Rebreather Instructor Exam. Candidates must review all items missed until they demonstrate mastery of those items.
   b. Demonstrate the ability to effectively brief, coach, debrief and assess student learning in the practical application sessions.
   c. Perform all rebreather skills in the Waterskills Evaluation as appropriate for the specific unit. You need to score no less that a 3 on any skill. At least 50 percent of skills scored at a 4 or higher.
   d. Successfully complete the PADI Rebreather Diver Rescue Workshop

We can be flexible with the daily Rebreather Instructor course schedule. Our usual Poseidon CCR Instructor Course looks something like this:

Course Schedule:

Day 1

We start your Rebreather Instructor Course with a day in the classroom with Chris Owen your Instructor Trainer. He will go through some Rebreather Instructor Presentations with you covering.

• Introduction & Course Overview.
• PADI Rebreather Courses.
• How to Teach Rebreather Courses.
• Marketing PADI Rebreather Courses.
• Depending on time, we may also do Practical Assessment One:  Unit Assembly.

Day 2

Day 2 of the Rebreather Instructor Course moves us to the pool for the Confined Water work. However if we have not done the Practical Application One we do this before we go to the pool.

Our PADI Poseidon Rebreather Instructor Trainer Chris Owen likes to start off in the pool with the Skill Circuit of 19 Skills. This is similar to the PADI Divemaster Skill Circuit but for Rebreathers. By the same token the Evaluation Criteria on a Rebreather Instructor Course is the exactly the same your PADI Divemaster Course and PADI IDC.

Then once that has been completed successfully, we move onto the 2 Rebreather Instructor Confined Water Teaching presentations. Again likewise, the Evaluation Criteria for Open Water is exactly the same as on your PADI IDC or PADI IDC Staff Course. Depending on time and your exact Rebreather Instructor course logistics, we can also do the Role Model Rescue Demonstration. Once again this is PADI Rescue Diver Course Exercise #7. The only difference this time is that both divers are on Rebreathers. This can be a somewhat different experience to doing it in typical recreational open circuit equipment. At least in the tropics of Phuket anyway.

We usually finish off a PADI Rebreather Instructor Course with either the second or both Practical Application Presentations.

Day 3

We head to the beach for your Rebreather Instructor Open Water Teaching Presentation of two skills. These can be from The PADI Rebreather or Advanced Rebreather Courses. However Chris usually assigns one from each, but it varies Candidate to Candidate.

Time allowing, we also go for a bit of a dive. We might as well if we have the time!

Then we go back to the classroom for the 2 PADI Rebreather Instructor Knowledge Development Teaching Presentations. We usually leave The PADI Rebreather and Advanced Rebreather Instructor Exam until last. However it can be done anytime.

This is a loose schedule as there is plenty of room for flexibility on our Rebreather Instructor Courses. We have found PADI Rebreather Instructor Courses can vary greatly between Candidates. This is generally down to their knowledge and skills with their Rebreather. This seems to vary much more with Closed or Semi-closed Rebreather divers than it does with open circuit. Further more some Rebreather Instructor Candidates may have forgotten the structure of PADI Teaching Presentations and Evaluation Criteria.

We also have the option to go on the boat for a 3 dive day and do a dive or 2 as well!

What is “The Assist” option?

The Performance Requirement on the PADI Rebreather Instructor for this is: The candidate must assist with at least one PADI Rebreather Diver course or one PADI Advanced Rebreather Diver course.

The purpose of this is for Rebreather Instructor candidates to gain familiarity with the courses and in assisting rebreather divers. Teaching Closed Circuit Rebreathers or CCR, like the Poseidon Se7en or MKVI, IS very different to teaching open circuit. The Assist can be completed either before or after your PADI Rebreather Instructor Course. As such you are encouraged to assist on a PADI Poseidon Rebreather Course if you can, as obviously you will learn a lot.

However if you do not have time or the opportunity to do this before you come to Indepth we can run it on Phuket. If we do not have a Rebreather course starting within your available dates then there is another option. This is called the Simulated Assist.

As with a PADI IDC, on your Rebreather Instructor Course we will use other rebreather divers to simulate students in the class you are teaching. Dives you will teach are: PADI Rebreather Diver Course Training Dives One, Two and Five. Chris and the Indepth Staff will be role-playing PADI Poseidon Rebreather student divers. Problems will be assigned by them the same as was done on your PADI IDC and IE.

The Assist can be run after the course or can be “integrated” into the PADI Rebreather Instructor Course. We tailor each course to the individual Instructor Candidate so this varies. A very nice way to run this, is to do it on the same day as the Open Water Teaching Presentations so we can go out on the boat. We can get three dives / day so we can make three one hour dives.

Once certified as a PADI Rebreather Instructor you will be qualified to teach the following PADI Rebreather Courses:

• Discover Rebreather
• Rebreather Diver
• Advanced Rebreather Diver
• Rebreather Qualifier
• Rebreather Refresher

CONGRATULATIONS Rebreather Instructor, now go make some PADI Rebreather Divers ...