Diving Courses

Diving First Aid for Professionals (DFA Pro)

Professional divers have unique responsibilities and a duty to respond to unique situations; their first aid training should not be any less unique. DAN’s Diving First Aid for Professional Divers course is designed for commercial, professional, aquarium, and scientific divers, and it provides knowledge and first aid skills specifically for these work environments. 

DFA Pro includes all elements of the DAN BLS and EO2 courses and includes material on neurological assessment and first aid for hazardous marine life injuries.  In the neurological assessment portion of the DFA Pro course, you will learn how to properly manage injuries with neurological implications. You will learn to recognize these injuries and properly perform a neurological assessment. You’ll also learn what information to collect and relay to emergency medical services. Recognizing symptoms and responding quickly can shorten recovery times and improve long-term outcomes.  In the hazardous marine life injuries segment, you will gain the knowledge you need to identify specific types of marine life injuries and the first aid skills to treat them.

DFA Pro is the most comprehensive first aid course in the dive industry.  While geared toward dive instructors and divemasters, anyone, even nondivers, will learn an indispensable set of first aid and  risk-mitigation skills. 

Required Materials

• DAN DFA Pro Student Pack (Slates, Pocket Mask, Gloves, and a Non-Rebreather Mask)

Before Class

There is an online portion that has to be completed prior to the first day of class.  When signing up for the class, you will need to provide your email address.  The book for the class is online.  You will need to print off the exercise questions for the classroom portion of the class.

What You Will Learn

• The DAN DFA Pro course prepares you to address multiple problems at once and with confidence. It combines the knowledge and skills from the following four courses into a single approach to managing diving emergencies:

• Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid
• Neurological Assessment
• Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries
• First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries.
• CPR & use of AEDs
• Neurological assessments
• Decompression illness and stroke
• Atmospheric gases
• Respiration and circulation
• Oxygen safety
• Oxygen first aid for scuba diving injuries
• Envenomation from marine life
• Traumatic injuries
• Life-threatening complications
• Seafood poisonings
• Avoidance of marine life injuries

CLASS SCHEDULE 2025

Class also offered upon request