Readers of my Scuba books often say how useful they find the stories I tell to illustrate key messages. The stories are all true. I wish I could say I made them up, but I am not that creative. Fortunately, life tends to be able to conjure up real situations that are far more instructive than those I could ever invent.
Human factors is about making it easier to do the right thing and harder to do the wrong thing. Therefore, for divemasters, human factors is about making it easier for them and their divers to do the right thing and harder to do the wrong thing.
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ON-SITE FIRST AID
DAN’s first aid training and oxygen grant programs prepare divers and dive professionals worldwide to act quickly and effectively to assist injured divers.
EXPERT MEDICAL CARE
DAN’s continuing medical education courses empower doctors and other health care professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to treat divers.
ACCESS TO CHAMBERS
Tune in for talks about advances in postdive bubble monitoring, emergency action planning, managing unusual dive accidents, and more. See the streaming schedule here.
Will it become possible to diagnose decompression sickness through a blood test? We take a closer look at the implications of some recently published research.
Available at DAN.org/Return, the guide has helped thousands of people get back in the water safely in the past few months. Now, this new video brings the guide to life, highlighting the essential elements of a safe and successful return to diving after time away.
Because DCS isn’t the most straightforward diving injury, myths and misconceptions about it tend to arise. DAN is committed to continually educating divers about it, and we’ve decided to clarify a few of the most common misconceptions about it to ensure that all divers are better able to recognize DCS, respond to it and get the treatment they need in time.
While the most exotic of these potentially dangerous organisms are fairly well known, the more mundane sometimes cause uncertainty. Know what’s most likely to cause an injury on your next dive so you can relax and enjoy making bubbles.
In part one of this two-part series we’ll refresh your knowledge of wound care and treating common marine stings; next month we’ll cover injuries that involve scrapes, bites and penetrating wounds.
Interest among researchers has existed for a few decades, but it has increased in recent years as studies by such organizations as Duke University the University of South Florida have yielded intriguing results.
A recent big-data study performed by a DAN Europe research team used modern statistical analysis techniques to dig into a sample of nearly 40,000 open-circuit recreation dives and look for patterns and clues about DCS risk factors in real-world cases. Some of what they’ve found confirms our previous knowledge and opens entirely new avenues for research into the factors that contribute to DCS risk. Here’s what we’ve learned.
