Not all PADI IDCs are the same but if you want to get an idea of how it is taught by Platinum PADI Course Director Steve Prior and his wife and PADI IDC Staff Instructor, Janet, read on...
The day by day diary of a PADI IDC seen through the eyes of Phyllis, a real PADI IDC Candidate.
note: Phyllis is now a PADI IDC Staff Instructor, and has already staffed one IDC
I was filled with nervous apprehension as I walked in the the Bay View hotel in Sharm for the first day of my PADI IDC. I had heard stories about the Instructor Development Course from past Instructors in my life:
Stress, hard work, anxiety, these were common words. Nobody ever told me that their PADI IDC was FUN. But I was about to find out that Fun, Friendship, Laughter and Fantastic teaching tips, were far better descriptions of the course.
However, on that first morning, I felt like I shouldn't have signed up! The thought of meeting a group of new people attending "School" was in some way daunting. I was soon to discover that truthfully, the PADI IDC was going to be the best couple of weeks of my diving career and that I'd take memories, experiences and most of all, friends for life. Introductions? We didn't need intruductions! There were 7 of us in total on this course and we had all been talking - well emailing for the last three
weeks via the internet. Our PADI Course Director, Steve had formed an email "Forum" where we could all get to know each other and ask all sorts of questions. "What should I bring?" "Do I really need to bring those books about The Buisness of Diving? Have you seen what's in them?" "Can I get a local SIM card?" "Do I need a Visa?" It's amazing how you can get to know people via email. Who you can have a joke with, who you can have a laugh AT - and they don't mind! And most of all, it gets the introductions over with long before the start of the first day.
When I arrived at the "classroom" the desks were pulled together, so we were all together as a team, all facing each other. People were talking, laughing, 100 pct smiling! Was I in the wrong room? I was a bit confused at first, I was expecting things to be far more "regimented", this didn't seem too bad at all! One worry to cross of my list. Next thing to worry about was those exams! You know? Physics, Physiology and all that scary stuff? Well this is where our preparation was paying dividends.
Over the past 3 weeks, Steve had prepared us all for these exams (as well as reminding us about sun tan cream!) He had sent out mock exams, and given us all lots of tips on how to prepare. He was always just an email away, and always quick to give encouragement and brilliant tips. So we all had arrived at this course ready! Of course we still had some questions, and these Preparation days were to tidy any last niggles that we might have.
We sat another mock exam just to make sure that we were all on track.
I often wondered if Steve ever got annoyed with us. The number of emails over the last few weeks were well over 200! About all sorts of subjects, even dive theory!
But now I understand why he suffers it. It would have been a massive uphill struggle for all of us if we were not fully prepared. We had already bonded as a team!
My Tips on...
How to Have the BEST PADI IDC
TIP No.1 - Do it with Steve and Janet Prior! Seriously, I did my PADI Divemaster with them following a very strong recommendation from Dan, a Dive Guide in the Red Sea, who was also taught by them.
TIP No.2 - Be Prepared! By knowing the diving theory and skills you should know as a PADI Divemaster. I was confident because Steve taught me, but some of my IDC buddies said that they were really confused until Steve put them straight during the additional Preparartion Days.
TIP No.3 - Relax and enjoy yourself! I was amazed how much we all learnt during the IDC-seeing that we were laughing and mucking around the whole time.
Having completed my DM training in UK-in a wetsuit! I was delighted to be doing my PADI IDC in the beautiful Red Sea. Sure, we were there to learn to become PADI Scuba Instructors, but the location really did enhance the whole experience.
When we did finish the serious stuff and went for a dive, it was nice to see lots of coloured fish and coral.