This course is designed to increase your general knowledge and comfort in evaluating a routine, recreational divers “fitness to dive.” Enjoying the underwater environment, even under ideal conditions comes with inherent risk, which may be increased by certain physical conditions. Divers and diver candidates often do not understand or appreciate the risk associated with diving, or how their underlying conditions may be affected by the underwater environment. It is important for physicians who are asked to evaluate an individual for recreational diving to have a basic understanding of SCUBA diving itself, the physiologic effects this activity places on the body, and some of the common diving related pathologies in order to have informed conversations with patients. Unfortunately, these topics are insufficiently addressed during most formal medical training.
This course is intended as an introduction to recreational diving medical evaluations and is geared toward the primary care provider who is occasionally asked to evaluate relatively healthy individuals who wish to take a SCUBA diving course or continue diving after new medical conditions arise. The overall goal of the course is to help providers gain comfort in performing routine evaluations, highlight resources available for future assistance, and understand when more complex issues should be discussed with or referred to an experienced diving medicine physician.
This is a focused continuing medical education activity only and does not result in certification or certificate of added qualification. This course is NOT intended to qualify physicians for the evaluation of commercial divers, or replace the UHMS Medical Examiner of Divers Course, the UHMS Physicians Training in Dive Medicine Course, fellowship training, or board certification in Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine.
During this course, we will discuss the basic principles of diving and aspects of the routine recreational fitness to dive encounter:
On completion of this course, the candidate is expected to:
Schedule
Date: Thursday, June 15
Time: 8am - 5:00pm
Posted: 2/2/2023 - see agenda tab below
(subject to change)
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Dr. Bruce Derrick, MD is a undersea & hyperbaric medicine specialist in Durham, NC. He currently practices at Duke Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic and is affiliated with Duke University Hospital. Dr. Derrick is board certified in Emergency Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor of Surgery, Dept. of Emergency Medicine; Attending Physician - Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology, and Emergency Department, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.
Dr. Nicholas Bird is board certified in family medicine, and fellowship-trained and boarded undersea and hyperbaric medicine. He is the past-president of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, the former Chief Medical Officer and CEO at Diver’s Alert Network (DAN), and the co-author of DAN’s First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries. Prior to this position, he served as the Medical Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. He completed a diving and hyperbaric medicine fellowship at the University of California San Diego and received his initial hyperbaric training while serving in the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon. An avid diver, he was certified in 1984 and became a PADI Instructor in 1989. His diving and medical interests include remote medicine and he is moving to the Marshall Islands in August to serve as the Chief Medical Officer for the island of Kwajalein.
Dr. Alleman earned his medical degree and completed his residency as co-chief resident in family practice at Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport. He is board-certified in occupational medicine, undersea and hyperbaric medicine and addiction medicine. Dr. Alleman completed two fellowships: one in hyperbaric medicine at LSU, New Orleans and one in occupational medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He became interested in hyperbaric medicine while working as an occupational medicine physician in Lafayette, Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina he recruited a physician from New Orleans who treated commercial divers. To further his own knowledge, Dr. Alleman completed his hyperbaric fellowship and earned board certification in undersea and hyperbaric medicine. “It’s a wonderful treatment for a very diverse group of conditions,” Dr. Alleman said of hyperbaric medicine. “In many cases it offers a patient their best or only chance at recovery.” Dr. Alleman was chairman of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society committee that published the UHMS Medical Fitness to Work Guidelines for Multiplace Inside Attendants 1st edition. He is chairman of the Association of Diving Contractors Physician’s Diving Advisory Committee and has been on the faculty of the UHMS fitness to dive course for six years. Jim Chimiak, MD Bruce Derrick, MD Bruce Derrick, MD Bruce Derrick, MD Faculty Nick Bird, MD Richard Moon, MD Davut Savaser, MD Davut Savaser, MD On Own Davut Savaser, MD Tony Alleman, MD Tony Alleman, MD Faculty Nick Bird, MD Davut Savaser, MD Faculty Faculty
Fitness to Dive: Introduction to the Routine Medical Evaluation of Recreational Divers: 2023 Pre-course
Event Properties
Event Start Date
06-15-2023
Event End Date
06-15-2023
Location
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
Categories
UHMS Directly Provided Course
Bruce Derrick
MD
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Davut Savaser
MD
Jim Chiamiak
MD
Nick Bird
MD
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Tony Alleman
MD
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Tony Alleman, MD is a Louisiana native who joined Regional One Health to treat patients in the hyperbaric oxygen therapy facility in our Wound Care Center.
0755-0815
Welcome & Dive Injury Epidemiology
0815-0845
Introduction to Recreational Diving
0845-0915
Diving Physics & Physiology
0915-0945
Diving Pathophysiology
0945-1000
Q / A
1000-1030
Cardiovascular
1030-1100
Pulmonary
1100-1130
Neuro/psych
1130-1200
Endocrine/other
1200-1300
LUNCH
1300-1330
Musculoskeletal
1330-1400
ENT
1400-1430
Medications and diving
1430-1445
Q / A
1445-1500
Diver Evaluation: RSTC Form/Documentation
1500-1545
Physical Examination/neuro exam
1545-1645
Case Discussions
1645-1700
Course Wrap Up, Q/A