Emergency Assistance Plan Update (Call to Action)

The most popular post here on The Diving Blog is easily on writing an Emergency Assistance Plan. To date, this article, with the free templates, have helped hundreds of divers in one of the most unnecessarily confusing parts of the PADI Rescue Diver course.

In the process, I've received valuable feedback from many readers. First of all, to those of you who have commented or emailed constructive feedback on the EAP templates, thank you! Our post shows up as a top result when searching for emergency assistance plans, and your input helps to make it better, in turn helping many scuba divers in training.

There’s one thing I've consistently noticed: there is no standard set of requirements for an EAP to be considered complete. This isn't necessarily a short-coming on PADI’s part, it simply reflects the vastly different requirements for different countries, cultures, and environments. Responding to an emergency in San Diego, California would be an entirely different experience than responding to one in the Maldives.

Nevertheless, I am working to coalesce all this information into a form usable by everyone. This is where you, the reader, come into play.

First, if you haven't yet, please read the original EAP post, and take a look at the template.

Second, send me your feedback. As an instructor, would you consider the template complete and acceptable? What is missing? If you dive in a particular location, what information is necessary that the template does not provide? If you are a certified rescue diver, did your instructor note anything that the template does not give? Feel free to leave a comment here, or use the contact form linked to above.

I will incorporate your feedback and ideas into an update of the post and template. Thank you for taking the time and paying it forward, helping future generations of scuba divers! You guys rock!