Diver Medic Technician Course

What is greater than the skill of a guy using an underwater chainsaw? Having the skills and training to save that guy’s life if something goes wrong.

DIT takes pride in producing skilled divers that follow the strictest safety standards. An important part of safety is being prepared for accidents, so if they occur, you can handle them expertly.

Divers Institute of Technology offers a two-week Diver Medical Technician course where you can become certified to provide hyperbaric care for an injured diver.

The course is internationally recognized by IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association), DCBC (Divers Certification Board of Canada), and offers certification through the NBDHMT (National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology).

Need in the Field

In both inland and offshore dive sites in the United States, every dive team is recommended to have at least one diver medic. For international jobs, many larger companies are pushing to have every single member of the team be a diver medic. This is very important for all methods of diving whether SCUBA, surface supplied air / mixed gas, deep bore tunneling and/or saturation dives.

In An Emergency

Unlike EMTs, DMTs have the ability to render definitive care. If the treatment is in their scope, they are able to administer it completely. If the patient needs to get to a hospital, the Diver Medic can stabilize and render life saving aid, but the DMT is not alone. They have phone and radio communication with diving physicians, so divers have the support needed to make the right decisions and provide prompt and adequate treatment.

Most days

Most of what a Diver Medic does in the field is preventative, they may be called upon to plan or supervise decompression, train new tenders on chamber operations, run the dive team through emergency drills, and/or verify the emergency medical plan. The DMT will be among the first in the event of incident to render aid and advise in a treatment decision.

DMT instructor explains that building trust is essential, “If they trust you, they’ll come to you. That’s why it’s important to constantly get in the books. Never stop learning, and understand all the things that could potentially go wrong.”

Course Program:

Week 1	Renew C.P.R., First Aid, O2 and A.E.D. skills. Continue the week in classroom.
Week 2	Hands on practice in the recompression chamber. Use training mannequins.

The Learning is Hands-On

You’ll learn how to conduct patient assessments, wound closure, splinting, hemorrhage control, start IV’s, urinary catheterization, advanced airway adjuncts, and administer parenteral medications. You’ll be run through scenarios in which you are given a situation where you’ll have to make appropriate treatment decisions and diagnosis using tools that you learned in the classroom.

You’ll practice monitoring recompression, and learn about communicating with doctors and dive supervisors to work as a team.

Testing

There is a 100 question written exam, and a practical exam where you get a test scenario and are graded on your diagnosis and treatment decision.

What You Need to Succeed

When asked about what kind of person will do well in this course, the Instructor explained that empathy and compassion are key traits for all good diver medics.

“I think it’s really important that they care about people. If all they want is the DMT certification to get a job or to get paid more, then I suggest they not take the course. But if they really care about people and want to help the industry, then that’s the kind of person that will do well.”

Next Full Course:

NOTE: When making travel arrangements it is important to consider booking tickets and lodging arrangements that are refundable as courses are subject to be canceled if they do not meet the minimum student enrollment requirement. Courses may also be canceled if more than 85% of the registered students are having all or part of their tuition, fees or other charges paid for them by the educational institution or by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

All registrants will be notified of course cancellation (if applicable) within two weeks (14 days) of their scheduled course start date.

10-Day Course:

The Diver Medic Course at Divers Institute of Technology is designed to give the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform as an integral part of the diving team. Commercial divers routinely work in remote locations, often in depths that require days of decompression before they can be transported to the nearest treatment facilities that may be hundreds of miles away. Due to the inherently dangerous work that is done day by day, the industry standard for a designated Diver Medic on all employer-sponsored dives has been established by the USCG and OSHA to provide prompt and adequate treatment of injured divers.

Certification includes:

DAN Diving First Aid for Professional Divers (First Aid, CPR, AED, and O2 Provider)
Certificate of Completion* of National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT) Certified Diver Medic training course (*with appropriate prerequisites)
Certificate of Completion* of International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Diver Medical Technician course (*with appropriate prerequisites)

Course Details:

Students will be introduced to advanced critical skills and diagnostic tests to help make appropriate diagnosis and treatment decisions, with emphasis on effective communication with a diving physician and carrying out critical care by the physician’s direction. Students will get extensive practice doing advanced invasive procedures including Advanced Airway, Wound Closure (sutures and staples), Urinary Catheterization, Chest Decompression (needle thoracentesis, and chest tube placement), Intravenous Infusion, and Drug administration. Ten percent of the course will be taught by a diving physician, who will cover medical equipment, sterile procedures, and effects of drugs in diving. The final testing will be done in a practical setting inside the recompression chamber, along with a written exam.

Cost:

$2200.00 for the 10-day, 60-hour full course (includes all textbooks, a Diver Medic Diagnostic Kit, and hours of instruction).
The 5-day, 30-hour refresher course for previously certified DMTs renewing their credentials is $1100.00. For refresher classes, the Diagnostic Kit and books are not included in the cost but may be purchased for an additional $600.00.
Due to the limited amount of spaces, a $500.00 non-refundable, non-transferrable tuition deposit is required at the time of registration. This amount will be credited toward the total tuition cost. The remaining balance is due 21 calendar days before the first day of class.

Successful completion of the course will be determined by an 80% or greater on the written exam and proper diagnosis and treatment of a simulated casualty presented in the recompression chamber.

Financial Aid:

The Full Course is approved for VA funding for qualifying students. Contact a DIT Financial Aid Administrator for information.

Upcoming Course Schedule:

Full course (10-day) :

Refresher (5-day) :

December 11, 2023 – December 15, 2023

Attendance:

100% attendance for all 60 hours (full course) or 30 hours (refresher) is required.

Refund & Retest Policy:

If a student fails the written or practical exams or fails to complete the full 60 hours, the course and exams may be made up during the next available refresher course opening at half-price ($550). In the event that the class is cancelled by DIT, the $500 tuition deposit may be refunded or applied to a future class. 100% of the tuition deposit will be refundable ONLY if DIT cancels the class. Policy when attendee cancels enrollment: If the attendee cancels their enrollment more than 21 calendar days before the scheduled class start date, refunds will be issued for amounts paid (less 50% the tuition deposit, or less $250 total). If the attendee does not cancel by 21 calendar days before the class start date, refunds will be issued for any amounts paid (less the full $500 tuition deposit). As the tuition deposit is not 100% refundable if enrollment is cancelled by the attendee, we strongly recommend that before you register, you ensure that your chosen course dates will work for you and your employer.

Additional Information:

*This post-graduate course is separate from the components of the core diving program and therefore is not accredited by the ACCSC. Any accreditation and certifications pertaining to the course are listed within the course description.*

The DMT course is open to firefighters, EMTs, commercial divers, military divers, combat medics and others who qualify. To qualify for certain DMT course certifications, you need to meet the following prerequisites for each category/certifying organization. If you do not meet either category of these prerequisites for the course, you may request an interview with the course director to determine your eligibility to attend the course and receive appropriate certifications.

Prerequisites for NBDHMT (EMT-background):

A copy of an in-date emergency medicine training completion certification. Documentation can include any of the following: DOT/NHTSA approved training course certificate, Current National Registry of EMT or paramedic certification or Current State EMT, or higher, licensure/certification card.
A “Fitness to Work in a Pressurized Setting” medical certificate. The applicant does not have to be deemed fit to dive. Rather, they should be considered medically fit to pressure-up in a recompression chamber.
After completion of the training course has been satisfactorily undertaken the DMT can apply to take the DMT certification examination. (Note: There is a $125 application fee to take the NBDHMT exam—not included in the above course cost.)

Reference: http://www.nbdhmt.org/forms/DMT_Resource_Manual.pdf

Prerequisites for Divers (DCBC/IMCA):

Individuals attending the course must be a graduate of a recognized commercial diving program. Those individuals who do not hold diving certifications recognized by IMCA will be awarded a Divers Institute of Technology Diver Medic Course Completion certificate. IMCA DMT Certificates shall be issued to those individuals that meet the following criteria:

Must hold an International Dive Certification
Must have a Current Dive Physical up to one year of the course start date
Medical background is preferred but not required

Reference: http://www.nbdhmt.org/forms/DMT_Resource_Manual.pdf

Please also note that our Diver Medic program is NOT “PAY FOR PASS”. Your tuition guarantees your opportunity to sit through the didactic and practical portions of the course as well as take the final written and practical examinations for certification. This is a challenging course running 5 days per week and 6 hours per day. Candidates will need to plan for approximately 4-5 hours of self-study and reading beyond the curriculum requirements.

Maximum class size is 12 students. This allows maximum time dedicated to practical skills and scenario-based training.

Please submit all certificates/licensure two weeks before class starts. Failure to do so may result in a non-refundable drop from enrollment.