DAN Instructor Training Courses

DAN Instructors are scuba diving educators who want to offer dive safety programs to their students. As a DAN Instructor, you can offer your students classes that will help make them better prepared to respond to a dive emergency. We offer the following DAN courses:

To become a DAN Instructor, you must participate in a DAN Instructor Qualification Course (IQC).

The IQC follows a modular format. There is a core module and then a separate module for each training program. As long as you remain a current and active DAN Instructor, you can take additional modules without retaking the core module. The core module is online in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Getting Started
To be eligible to take a DAN IQC, you must be the following:

  • an active DAN Member
  • an active scuba diving educator*
  • a current CPR/first aid instructor (You may complete the Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid course to fulfill this requirement.)

Note about the scuba diving educator requirement: Any scuba diving instructor, assistant instructor, and dive master with a recognized scuba training organization can attend the IQC.

  • Diving First Aid for Professional Divers
  • To qualify, the candidate must:
  • meet the qualifications to be a DAN Instructor, listed above
  • be a current DAN Member
Current DAN Instructor Trainers and Instructors who are certified to teach Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid, Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries, First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries, Neurological Assessment and CPR Health-Care Provider with First Aid may complete an online crossover to be certified in this program as well.
  • Diving Emergency Management Provider

To offer this program, DAN Instructor Trainers and Instructors must be in active teaching status for:

  • Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid
  • Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries
  • First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries
  • Neurological Assessment

Qualifications of DAN Instructors
Successful completion of the DAN IQC results in certification recognizing the instructor candidate’s understanding and performance of the knowledge and skills contained within this program.

Instructors must maintain active teaching status with DAN to conduct DAN training programs. To maintain active teaching status, DAN Instructors must teach or assist with teaching each course in which they are certified once within a 24-month period.

Recommended Minimum Hours of Training
Knowledge and Skills Development

  • Core module: 3 hours
  • Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries: 4-5 hours
  • First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries: 2-3 hours
  • Neurological Assessment: 2-3 hours
  • Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid: 3-4 hours
  • CPR Health-Care Provider with First Aid: 8 hours
  • Diving First Aid for Professional Divers: 6 hours
  • Dive Medicine for Divers: 6 hours (Level I-III)

The time the course actually takes to teach varies depending upon many factors, including the number of students and their ability to process the educational components of the program along with the number of modules offered.