THE EVOLUTION OF DAN’S OXYGEN FIRST AID TRAINING

Today, oxygen is nearly ubiquitous among recreational dive businesses. It’s a pretty safe bet that any dive boat crew is trained in its use. Legions of recreational divers are certified oxygen providers and consider it a critical piece of their own gear.

There was a time, though, when oxygen and capable administrators were not so common.

In 1984 Dr. Arthur Dick and two of his colleagues at DAN made some interesting observations. They examined a series of decompressionsickness cases from 1981 to 1982 and compared 10 cases in which divers were given first aid oxygen with 10 cases, comparable in severity, in which divers were not. First aid oxygen resulted in 90 percent symptom resolution during hyperbaric chamber therapy versus only 50 percent resolution in those who had not received oxygen prior to the chamber treatment. Recurrence of symptoms was lower in the individuals who had received first aid oxygen, and long-term outcomes were better.

Dr. Dick’s study clearly established the benefits of first aid oxygen, and others, like Jim Corey at the U.S. Secret Service, began working toward making oxygen equipment safer and easier to use by people with little or no medical training. DAN Research established that despite the benefits of first aid oxygen, only one-third of injured divers received it in an emergency.

All of these efforts made clear the necessity of an emergency oxygen training programme for the diving public. DAN spearheaded the effort in 1991 with the creation of a training department to develop and begin teaching such a programme.

DAN’s mission has always been about helping divers in need and promoting dive safety so when the benefits of oxygen as a first aid treatment became clear, developing a means of making that accessible to divers was a natural path for

DAN to take.

Within a year of the 1991 launch of the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries course, more than 1,000 divers had been trained as oxygen providers. Within another two years, the programme had gone global. Almost three decades later, oxygen units are now considered standard safety equipment among divers.

Of course, the oxygen programme was only the first of many DAN Education offerings. Since its launch, more than a dozen training programmes have been added to the lineup, creating the most comprehensive first aid and emergency assistance training available to divers.