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what they did and, especially, their feelings. Often they
know exactly what actions needed to be taken, but stress or
emotions led to shortcomings. This is generally an indication
that the training yielded benefits and that they may be more
comfortable and capable in similar scenarios in the future.
Critiques must be nonjudgmental and participant-focused,
and evaluators should guide the conversation toward
discussions of how improvements can be made. Evaluators
should also highlight the consequences and relative
importance of staff members’ actions or inaction during the
scenario. They should not overdramatize individuals’ faults;
they should remind participants that a primary goal of the
exercise was to provide an opportunity to make mistakes
in a low-consequence setting. This approach will keep staff
appreciative of in-service training rather than viewing it as
an embarrassing burden.
Document:
At the end of all training simulations, make a
list of every person involved, and record the date and some
details about the scenario. This documentation is a good way
to track staff-member participation and may also be helpful
in the event of legal action. Dive professionals and their
employers might be viewed more favorably when defending
a lawsuit if they can demonstrate a focus on accident
management with detailed in-service training records.
The Cost of Not Doing In-Service
Emergency Training
The two biggest arguments against conducting emergency
training exercises are cost and time. Employers pay staff for
the time, and without income to offset it that time can weigh
heavily on a budget. Employers should create a separate
budget for in-service training and, if possible, schedule
trainings for times when the staff is already together. Trainings
can be conducted at inexpensive locations such as pools,
beaches or lakes. Opinions vary on how often in-service
training exercises should be conducted. Whether they’re
run monthly, quarterly or semiannually is up to the dive
professionals and their employers and may depend on the size
and scope of the business and the size of the staff.
For those who dismiss in-service emergency training
exercises as impractical or unnecessary, consider this: After
a dive accident is not a good time to discover problems.
Scuba diving is fun, and most dive professionals are not often
reminded that it can be deadly. When an incident occurs it may
be immediately obvious to all parties that certain staff members
have not kept up their skills and knowledge. The time, energy
and cost associated with reviewing a serious incident with
the training agency, insurance companies, investigators, law-
enforcement officials and attorneys will dramatically exceed the
cost of frequent, realistic training scenarios.
AD
It’s often the subtle nuances of
these scenarios that throw the
curve balls to staff.
Well-run emergency simulations include supervision by an evaluator, a means to
notify the public that training is in progress, a thorough post-training review session
and provisions for responding to an actual emergency.
TEC CLARK
TEC CLARK
