This is a 6 day course, aiming to give participants an understanding of conditions likely to occur whilst working as a doctor on a diving or marine based expedition. Topics covered will include pre-expedition medicals, diving-related illness, marine envenomation, emergency treatments and casevac plans. Practical sessions include boat handling, search & rescue and underwater communications. There will be at least 2 dives a day, including a night dive and hopefully a visit to the hyperbaric chamber on Kuramathi Island – the largest facility in the Maldives. At the end of the week, participants should feel confident to act as medical officer on a diving expedition, or in any UK diving medical practice

MINIMUM COURSE REQUIREMENTS
All participants are expected to at least have a PADI Open Water qualification (or equivalent) with a minimum of 10 dives. Ideally participants should have PADI Advance Open Water qualification (or equivalent) as we will be doing some current diving. Conditions are dependent on dive sites, currents and times of year. If your qualification is not recent we recommend you complete at least 2 or 3 refresher dives before the course so that you get the most out of the fantastic diving the Maldives offers.
If the group is mixed, the dives will be split into 2 groups, so that each group is diving to its own ability.
Participants must bring with them their dive qualification certificates and log books as proof of diving qualifications

Diving and Marine Medicine Course - Faculty
The Diving and Marine Medicine Team has been working and instructing in this expedition environment for 20 years or more. They have a wealth of experience working as medical professionals and expedition leaders on diving expeditions from Antarctica to Polynesia. Despite being an eclectic mixture they are approachable, friendly and inspirational. They aim to guide you through the course ensuring that the course is both informative and enjoyable.

Diving and Marine Medicine Course - Accreditation
In association with the Wilderness Medical Society we are able to offer the ability to earn 20.25 CME and credits towards the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Program to gain the FAWM.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the essential areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Wilderness Medical Society and Expedition Medicine. The Wilderness Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Wilderness Medical Society designates this educational activity for a maximum of 20.25 hours of AMA PRA Category I Credits. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity

Diving and Marine Medicine Course - What to expect
Diving Medicine participants will be transferred from the capital Male to the Ari Queen on a Sunday morning. It is advisable to fly in on the Saturday if possible to get over jet lag before starting the course. You’ll meet the rest of your group, with whom you’ll be living and diving over the following week. One of the challenges of expedition life is living in close quarters in a group, with people who you would not naturally choose as companions...so please bring a positive attitude and a sense of humour!

Lectures and group discussions will be held on board; you may feel seasick, particularly over the first couple of days, so please bring some anti-emetics that work for you. The Ari Queen has twin or double rooms, all en-suite. The food is delicious, often curried and spicy, and vegetarians can be catered for. There is a bar, so please bring some cash (US dollars) for drinks. Tipping is also part of the culture and if you wish to tip the boat staff, about $50 dollars in total is an appropriate amount at the end of the trip.

A variety of wet suits are suitable, and the choice depends on how much you feel the cold. The guides use long wetsuits in 3 or 5 mm neoprene. Some tourists dive in 3mm shorties, or even shorts and a T-shirt! Gloves and hood are not required. Please make sure your wetsuit fits you. Fins can be with boots or bootless.

We can expect to see a variety of corals, numerous brightly coloured fish, moray eels and white-tipped reef sharks on most dives. There are also the occasional manta rays, eagle rays and grey reef sharks, and if we are lucky the more rarely seen whaleshark or hammerhead shark. Wake-up call is at 06:30 followed by a briefing and dive at 07:00, and breakfast follows dive. It is important to be organised with your equipment so the diving and lecture programmes are not delayed.

Diving conduct is set by the Maldivian government, and the dive boat will be heavily fined if the rules are broken. The rules help to make diving in the Maldives as safe as possible, whilst allowing you to experience the fantastic variety of underwater life. Dives are to a maximum depth of 30 metres, with a maximum dive time of 50 minutes and a 3 minute safety stop at 5-6 metres. All dives are within no-decompression limits.

We plan to dive mostly in the South Ari Atoll. Currents and conditions vary, and some dives have strong currents – this does mean more likelihood of seeing sharks, rays and large fish, but divers need to be experienced to cope with the conditions. Diving in currents can be stressful at first, and initially your air consumption may be higher than normal. We aim to provide more sheltered sites for less experienced divers. Local guides will lead each group, and are fantastic at pointing out interesting marine life.

As well as dives and lectures, there will be practical sessions in boat handling, underwater search & rescue, and underwater communications. We’d like you to become familiar with standard boat engines and compressors, as well as expedition medical kits and casevac plans!  At the end of the week you’ll have enjoyed a variety of theoretical and practical sessions, seen amazing underwater life and have a greater understanding of diving physiology and medical conditions affecting marine expeditions. We hope to see you on the course!

A proportion of your Diving Medicine course fee goes to support the work of Blue Ventures.

Blue Ventures is an award-winning, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to marine conservation, education and sustainable development in tropical coastal communities

 The price includes accommodation, meals (unless otherwise stated), course manual and rental of SOME equipment (SEE KIT LIST BELOW) 2 dives per day including a night dive and all course activities. The only additional cost is for your accommodation before and after the course, flights, drinks, items of a personal nature and travel insurance.

There is the option of staying and arranging further activities, please contact Ros at Expedition Medicine for further details.