Originally posted on Dive Desk Maldives
Ismail Shahiq Shiyaad completed his PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, PADI Underwater Photography Specialty Course, Emergency First Response and Emergency First Responder Instructor course at Dive Desk. He is a medical nurse by profession and is currently employed in Queensland, Australia.
The very thought of turquoise oceans makes me homesick and every time I take a vacation and head home to Maldives, I try to make the full use of it. Between catching up with friends and spending time with family, I join fun dives and indulge in my passion for underwater photography. Even though I am a trained nurse I decided to take the Emergency First Response course and immediately moved on to the EFR Instructor course because I realized how important the basic skills and knowledge given through the internationally standardized curriculum is for the general population.
The importance of First Aid and CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation) is misunderstood by people in the community mostly due to personal assumptions, culture and tradition. People tend to take it for granted that trained medical assistance from doctors, nurses and healthcare workers will be immediately accessible during an emergency situation. Despite the highly dispersed population of Maldives, access to medical facilities are available and within reach but the actions taken within the first few minutes of an incident could determine the fate of the injured – whether the person lives or dies or whether the person lives with a lifelong debilitating condition or makes a full recovery.
But what if an incident were to happen to you, your family or friends? What can you as a bystander do as you wait for access to professional medical assistance – perhaps waiting for ambulance to arrive or taking the injured on a boat to the nearest healthcare centre? Getting trained in first aid and CPR teaches what you can do on the scene to help delay the deterioration of the injured person’s condition and things that you can do to help revive them till professional help arrives. I highly recommend family members with kids and people with high risk medical conditions to have the basic understanding and training in First Aid And CPR. You can help save lives. Remember you never know it could be someone close to you.
As a Nurse and Underwater Photographer, I saw becoming a EFR Instructor the right choice to educate people in the society with my profession in healthcare backing me up.
Internationally standardized curricula like PADI and Emergency First Response provide safety guidelines and teach the safe way of doing things! I wish to see more Maldivian people going out to the ocean, exploring and appreciating the true beauty of our reefs, and I wish to see more people certified as Emergency First Responders in our community! Don’t let societal fears hinder you from going out and exploring nature! Sharing some of my underwater clicks before I sign off. Enjoy!
