Fortunately, scuba diving accidents are quite rare, but when they do occur, emergency oxygen is a potentially life-saving tool. Oxygen kits should be carried on board any reputable dive boat. If you’re an independent beach or boat diver, you may want to consider carrying emergency oxygen along with your firstaid kit.

Any diver could find themselves assisting an injured diver; the PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course teaches you the skill of providing emergency oxygen in dive accident situations.

Benefits

When emergencies—like drowning, decompression sickness or lung over-expansion injury—happen, emergency oxygen is often the best, and only, treatment option that can help.

Depending upon the injury, the sooner an injured diver receives emergency oxygen, the better their chances of recovering. Understanding the signs and symptoms of dive injuries will prepare you to give life-saving oxygen when needed.

The PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course goes beyond basic CPR and first-aid certifications like the PADI Emergency First Response (EFR) course. When responding to an injured diver, you should always provide CPR and first aid immediately when needed, and quickly supplement with emergency oxygen in most situations.

What You'll Learn

The academic portion of the course teaches you about the different types of dive injuries and how to recognize key signs and symptoms. You’ll also get hands-on experience learning how to assemble and disassemble the emergency oxygen kit, practicing how to administer oxygen to a breathing diver using a non-rebreather mask and a demand inhalator valve, as well as how to use a pocket mask on a non-breathing diver.

The PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course doesn’t involve any diving or in-water training. The classroom portion normally takes one day. There are no prerequisites or age restrictions—you don’t even need to be a certified diver. Anyone who spends time around divers in the water—from boat crew and lifeguards to non-diving friends and family members—can benefit from taking this course.