Day 1: Dry (theory and presentations)
In the morning you take two exams. The Standards Exam (which is open book) and the Theory Exam, which is broken into five equal sections. These sections include: equipment, dive physics, physiology, general skills & environment, and recreational dive planning (RDP). You then take a one hour break to prepare your presentation. After that, you present what you have prepared in front of your examination group.
Day 2: Wet
Confined Water: you start the day in the pool where you have to “teach” two skills to mock students. You must be able to teach the skill and correct any problems that the students face when demonstrating the skill. You then have to demonstrate five skills in a skills circuit.
Open Water: in the afternoon you repeat the skills circuit, performing each at a demonstration standard. You then go onto demonstrating rescue scenario seven. Everyone’s favorite!
Almost everyone I have talked to has said that the IE was nowhere as difficult or scary as they expected it to be.
What will I be able to do after my course?
After your course you can teach Discover Scuba Diving (DSD), Scuba Refresher, Scuba Diver, Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Divemaster and Project AWARE courses. There are probably more I’m forgetting as well.
You are also eligible to become a specialty Instructor and work toward your Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification.
Any tips for someone thinking about starting the IDC?
I mean… JUST GO FOR IT! You really have nothing to lose!
For those that have decided to go for it and are preparing for their IDC – study study study your theory! If you have that down before arriving it really cuts down on the amount of time the course director has to lecture in the classroom and makes the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone (you get to sleep in longer and get out of class earlier!).
Familiarise yourself with the Instructor Manual as you will use this A LOT both during and after your IDC. But more importantly, do your best to understand all of the five sections of the theory exam like the back of your hand. Kim provides a really nice PADI study guide, so you can be sure to study all necessary topics ahead of time.