# Diver Medical Technician



## jmp09 (Jan 11, 2013)

Did not see anything on the boards about this. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this certification. 

EMT-B is the only pre-req and looks like you still learn IV's and such. Living on the Gulf all my life a lot of need for this on dive boats and rigs.


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## medicdan (Jan 11, 2013)

jmp09 said:


> Did not see anything on the boards about this. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this certification.
> 
> EMT-B is the only pre-req and looks like you still learn IV's and such. Living on the Gulf all my life a lot of need for this on dive boats and rigs.



This is an area I've always had an interest in, along with chamber operator training. Which course are looking for/at? Divers Alert Network runs one, although I don't know how widely it's accepted or acknowledged, or the role of any specific training in job placement. Have you looked at or know of any other training programs? What's the job market like? Are you looking at this course as a way of learning or performing IVs or because of an interest in dive medicine?


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## jmp09 (Jan 11, 2013)

Diver's alert is a course approved by The National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology, which is the governing body from what I can tell. They have a list of approved locations and courses on their site if you're interested. There is also a course at NDA in Jacksonville which for me is most convienent. NOAA as well has a course. 

I am going for the entry into dive medicine the IV part is just a bonus. Job market seems pretty good actually. Looks like you can make around $300 a day out on oil rigs. It's mandatory for a DMT to be on site during any commercial diving work. Aside from that, I know lots of divers in the area so even getting it as something to do on the weekends for local dive boats as some extra cash would be worth it to me. Only a week long certification.


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## jmp09 (Jan 11, 2013)

btw, you learn chamber operations in the DMT course.


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## medicdan (Jan 11, 2013)

jmp09 said:


> Diver's alert is a course approved by The National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology, which is the governing body from what I can tell. They have a list of approved locations and courses on their site if you're interested. There is also a course at NDA in Jacksonville which for me is most convienent. NOAA as well has a course.
> 
> I am going for the entry into dive medicine the IV part is just a bonus. Job market seems pretty good actually. Looks like you can make around $300 a day out on oil rigs. It's mandatory for a DMT to be on site during any commercial diving work. Aside from that, I know lots of divers in the area so even getting it as something to do on the weekends for local dive boats as some extra cash would be worth it to me. Only a week long certification.



Very interesting.... Certainly something to look into. Thanks.


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## mycrofft (Jan 11, 2013)

Hollywood's Amphibious Medics started out with a dive qualified med tech standing by on aquatic filming sets. They are HQ in Los Angeles.


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## DMT (Jan 13, 2013)

I've been a DMT for 8 years... To work in the gulf you have 2 options: 
1) go to commercial diving school and work for a dive company as a diver. For the dive companies you are a diver first and a medic as a bonus. You'll get an extra $1-2/hour over your diver pay.  They don't hire strictly dive medics. 

2) Be a paramedic and get your DMT. Work for a contract medic company that places you on a barge or oil platform as a medic. The dive medic part will help you get hired and will get you on dive jobs instead of normal oil rigs. They will most likely not hire anything less than paramedic, because that's what oil companies require to be on their projects. 

I've done both routes. I spent 7 years as a diver/dive medic and absolutely  loved it. I broke my leg and switched to being just a medic last year. To be a diver you're gonna spend around $20k on dive school and be gone A LOT with no set schedule... But I made between $65k-$85k working about 7 months a year. As just a medic I worked 2 weeks on/2weeks off and made around $60k.  The biggest perk is that everything is payed for while you're offshore and if you have the set 2 weeks off you can work on a truck while you're home.  

I don't know what kind of class DAN offers, bit if it's just their 'rescue diver' class, that won't cut it. You need to find a NBDHMT Diving Medical Technician course. It's a week or so long(M-F 8-5) as long as you have your EMT.  All the commercial dive schools will have it. CDA in Jacksonville, FL, Oceancorps in Houston, DIT in Seattle, College of Oceaneering in Cali, etc. It includes decompression chamber ops, treatment dive tables, IV's, Intubation, drug admin, suturing, foley cath's, and of course all of the dive science/physics/medicine.


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## jmp09 (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you for all that info. It was exactly what I was looking for. The DAN is recognized by NBDHMT as a DMT class so I may go with that. 

Could you give me the name of some of the companies that do a lot of the contracting for DMT's? 

Again, much appreciated.


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## RAGNAR (Jul 17, 2013)

I know this is old, but thought I'd throw this out there.

The DMT course at DAN will not teach you invasive skills at the level really needed for DMT IMO

I did my DMT with NOAA but had done invasive skills through my MPIC course, military TCCC, and Deployment Medicines OEMS. 

I'd really look at a solid 7-10 day MPIC course first. DANs course may be ok and is fairly accessible. Catilina runs a dive medical program and when combined w their two day chamber operator program cover the stuff needed for DMT as long as you have invasive skills training from somewhere else.

I'm betting it would be a lot better than DANs course.


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## Bullets (Jul 17, 2013)

jmp09 said:


> Did not see anything on the boards about this. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this certification.
> 
> EMT-B is the only pre-req and looks like you still learn IV's and such. Living on the Gulf all my life a lot of need for this on dive boats and rigs.



If you dive regularly and enjoy the life, it can provide you with decent jobs. It is required to have a DMT at commerical diving sites and projects. Recreational dive boats dont have a DMT, they may have a basic first aid kit, but they rely on the Coasties in serious emergencies. Usually your local dive teams have medical support within the team, so they dont use that

You work in commercial dive sites, so things like offshore oil rigs, deep water construction projects and other types that basically involve extended stays at depth and off shore. You are working similar schedules as oil drillers, so weeks to months away from home on a site. If you are single, then it can be a great job and pays pretty well, but otherwise it can be a drag being so far from home


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## Badges25 (Apr 1, 2014)

I know this is an old thread but I just discovered this website. DMT sounds sexy and is very appealing to those who love diving, however, no one really knows what to do with their DMT cert. like mentioned in the other posts, commercial diving is the #1 use for DMT certification. That's a life that's definitely not for everyone. I've been through the DAN class and NOAA. The completion of either class will get you NBDHMT certification. The NOAA class was better, however, unless you're part of a government (including state/municipal) entity, you can't get in. In 8 years in the Coast Guard, I encountered a few DMTs who were either dive instructors or were contracted by dive/charter companies. In Fla. there are many ' resort' dive training classes which offer a 4 hour class. Many folks end up getting hurt on dives the venture on after this brief class. Usually these were deep water dives they weren't qualified for. We would medevac them to a chamber or trauma ctr. Many times, DMTs would be on these charters providing basic care. So there is a small market out there for the aspiring DMT. There are independent chambers out there and some busy charter companies will hire a DMT. Even working in a hospital wound care center with a chamber is a possibility.


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## lostmedic (Sep 28, 2015)

Thank you guys for the information.  I am looking at this type of certification as well.  It sounds like an interesting job.


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## Matt Jones (Jun 23, 2016)

lostmedic said:


> Thank you guys for the information.  I am looking at this type of certification as well.  It sounds like an interesting job.




If you have any questions, I've been a Board Certified Dive Medic and Hyperbaric Technologist for 8 years.  I am also a NRP.

I teach the DMT course at Divers Institute in Seattle that awards the national AND international DMT cert.

Matt


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## akflightmedic (Jun 23, 2016)

Not a horrible bump on old thread...seems like we have new experts on the topic which is great!

As for being a DMT, I find it interesting that most seemed to be focused on the rigs and sets...I worked a side job for a couple years for a local neurologist. Hyperbaric chambers are used not only for actual divers, they are used in wound healing as well. His chamber could hold up to 12 people plus a tech, so I would "dive" with the patients on some days and operate the chamber on others.

Just saying, do not rule out your local neurologist or wound care specialist as they may have a chamber and need  a medical person to dive with the patients.


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## Bullets (Jun 23, 2016)

akflightmedic said:


> Not a horrible bump on old thread...seems like we have new experts on the topic which is great!
> 
> As for being a DMT, I find it interesting that most seemed to be focused on the rigs and sets...I worked a side job for a couple years for a local neurologist. Hyperbaric chambers are used not only for actual divers, they are used in wound healing as well. His chamber could hold up to 12 people plus a tech, so I would "dive" with the patients on some days and operate the chamber on others.
> 
> Just saying, do not rule out your local neurologist or wound care specialist as they may have a chamber and need  a medical person to dive with the patients.



We have local hospital that has a hyperbaric chamber for wound healing, and when we inquired as to its ability to be used for guys getting bent, they told us the chamber doesnt go "deep" enough for those types of emergencies. Think they were telling the truth or they just didnt know their abilities


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## Summit (Jun 24, 2016)

Bullets said:


> We have local hospital that has a hyperbaric chamber for wound healing, and when we inquired as to its ability to be used for guys getting bent, they told us the chamber doesnt go "deep" enough for those types of emergencies. Think they were telling the truth or they just didnt know their abilities


No they are telling the truth. There area wide variety of single place hyperbaric chambers and one multiplace hyperbaric (and one multiplace hypObaric) in the metro area a near me. There is only one facility that is suited to treat DCS.

I'll leave the details to the experts, but briefly:

Single place chambers in most places often are 30, 45, or 60fsw chambers for wound treatment and are not designed for patients needing certain interventions or support. They may be capable of treating CO poisoning. These really have two significant settings: depth and O2 bleed.

You can even find some of these chambers in retail places selling woo and cures to whatever ails ya.

DCS may require deeper treatment tables capable of 165fsw and deeper than 60fsw typically requires heliox mixed gas capability (controlling % O2 and Helium) based on the table and to prevent O2 tox. Capabilities may also be required if there is diagnosed additional dive related illness like air gas embolism or worsening DCS.

Multiplace chambers may be required depending on patient condition, DCS or otherwise (eg hyperbaric RN dives with the patient). Remember, if you have a patient in the chamber, and their condition requires intervention, it is a bad thing to suddenly decompress that chamber to ambient.


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## akflightmedic (Jun 24, 2016)

Our chamber being on the ocean side of FL and its proximity to NASA (for which it held the contract) was able to do damn near everything, pretty sure it even gave haircuts at depth.


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## captaindepth (Jun 27, 2016)

I was a DMT for 3 years while I worked as a commercial diver in the GOM. 

Each dive job usually had two DMTs on the boat/jack-up/rig, one was on day shift and the other on night shift. DMTs were all divers (or tenders) with the additional cert. DMTs made $1 more an hour but were needed on all jobs so if you had the cert it could help you get on the job. 

I did my training through PrimeTime training and Richard Meister taught the course. It was pretty good but they made it an EMT/DMT course that's was 3 weeks long (12hrs X 7 days a week). It was A LOT to absorb. My thoughts looking back on it now are that we were completely underprepared and under educated for the amount of responsibility they ( the dive company) gave us. They gave us a locked drug box with numerous ALS drugs, laryngoscopes and blades, tubes, cric kits, and a first aid kit... no monitor or AED. It was crazy, zero to aqua hero in 3 weeks on a boat in the middle of the gulf (hopefully the phones worked if you had to call medical control). 

We used chambers every day for regular surface decompression and did treatment tables pretty regularly. @Summit i don't think any of the navy treatment tables use HeO2, if you need   to treat a diver at 165fsw it's normally done on air until they reach 60fsw and go back on O2/air. HeO2 is really hard to off gas due to the size of the molecules and the amount dissolved into body tissues, which is why they avoid it during treatment tables. I got bent really bad 2009 and spent 7 hours in a chamber on a treatment table, it sucks. I knew quite a few guys who got bent and we all turned out to have PFOs. If anybody wants to be a professional diver go get checked for a PFO, it will save your life.

Sorry for the rant but this stuff used to be my jam. Sometimes I really miss it, but then I remember I get come home every night now.


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## Matt Jones (Jul 1, 2016)

All of the new responses were nice to see.  Absolutely agree with you all!  @captaindepth - sorry for your lick, brother.  I've only had to ride a tx as a medic.  11 years diving commercially and no bends yet.  PFO is a thing.  Get checked if you can.  

DMT is certainly varied.  I have worked everything from diving to tunnel work to wound care and and learned so much.  It is an important thing to remember you don'yt have to be a diver.  Just have a fitness to work in a pressurized setting.  

I recommend getting your EMT before showing up to a course.  I tend to recommend a local company up here in Washington.  (That I have no professional relation with other than liking the EMTs they turn out.)  Remote Medical International.  One month EMT course with room and board included in the North Cascades.  You come out with NREMT, USCG MPIC and Remote Upgrade for your EMT.  It's relatively cheap, too!

Good luck!  Stay safe!  Keep learning!


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