Students Participate in Key West Dive Medicine Course

Navy Lt. Sherrod Green and Cmdr. Darren Couture practice "ascending with a downed diver" - rescuing a downed diver from the water. (Image credit: Sharon Holland)
By Sharon Holland

Medical students, graduate nursing students and several Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) faculty members from the Uniformed Services University are participating in a two-week Dive Medicine course sponsored by the GSN at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida.

The course, led by GSN faculty member and USU alum Dr. Matthew Welder, is the first of its kind - it takes students from a basic swim level to being open water certified, advanced open water certified, and water rescue certified, and includes 40 hours of classroom learning as well as training in the water.

As of yesterday, the students are officially dive medicine certified. This afternoon they will be working with the Coast Guard learn how to conduct a high angle rescue from the water to a Coast Guard ship.
 


A group three students practice pulling a person pretending to be a downed diver from a pool, watched by three instructors.
Students work together to pull a "downed diver" from the water. (Image credit: Sharon Holland)

Navy Lt. Sherrod Green and Cmdr. Darren Couture practice "ascending with a downed diver."
Navy Lt. Sharrod Green and Cmdr. Darren Couture practice "ascending with a downed diver." (Image credit: Sharon Holland)

An aerial group shot of students and instructors on the boat, putting on gear, and getting ready to dive.
Students and faculty prepare for an open water rescue scenario in the ocean off the Florida coast. (Image credit: Sharon Holland)

A student in dive gear is about to administer rescue breaths to a man in the water who is pretending to be unconscious.
U.S.Public Health Service Ensign Quinn Bott gets ready to administer rescue breaths for "water casualty" Cmdr. Darren Couture. (Image credit: Sharon Holland)

A group shot from the stern of students and instructors on the boat
Students and faculty pose for a photo on the dive boat. (Image credit: Sharon Holland)

Dive Key West instructors have said that our students are the best group they've ever had. Considering that one of the instructors is a former NATO Special Forces diver, one is a master-diver who has taught all over the world, and all frequently work with U.S. Special Forces, that's saying a lot.