As part of its ongoing commitment to ensure team members remain current on all water sporting best practices, Sandals Resorts recently partnered with Divers Alert Network (DAN) to execute training sessions for 24 of its team members across Jamaica.

The training and subsequent examination provided the knowledge and skills necessary to attain the first-aid Divers Alert Network Instructors certifications.

DAN is the premier dive safety organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of divers. The institution has been in partnership with Sandals for more than 25 years.

The training, which is currently exclusive to Sandals and Beaches Resorts in the Caribbean, will position these participants to become trainers themselves and will better enable them to impart their knowledge to not only their fellow water sports team members but also the wider Sandals and Beaches staff complement.

The group of trainee participants were engaged in refresher sessions on adult and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, foreign body airway obstructions, the delivering of oxygen for emergency scuba diving and other submersion events.

The team was also instructed on a signature DAN skill — the use of the manually triggered ventilator, which is currently only practised and taught by that organisation.

Returning to Jamaica for the second time, director of training at DAN Jim Gunderson shared that this time around the training was more in-depth and focused more on the long-term goal of making the team a self-sustainable group of trainers.

“This is our second time training with Sandals Resorts, the first time was a bit smaller in terms of scope and so we decided that this time around we would target a bigger group and multiple locations. The goal is to eventually have instructor trainers at all the resorts throughout the region,” Gunderson shared.

He added that the team also covered skills for neurological assessment, noting that with diving incidents, decompression illness is very common and this can sometimes be spotted through neurological signs. DAN thought it important that the trainees be able to assess these signs in the event of an accident.

In the meantime, Oshane Lawrence from Sandals South Coast’s water sports team said that he was grateful to be a part of the training, as this was a great way to upskill himself in his department and would help in doing what he loves to the best of his ability.

“The training was very informative and the knowledge and skills that we have gained here is transferable. We can use it in our daily lives, with our family and friends. Though we are already skilled in the areas of CPR and first aid, these sessions have given us a new outlook and I am looking forward to passing on what I have learnt to the rest of my team,” said Lawrence.

Sharing similar sentiments, open water scuba instructor at Beaches Negril Kimberley Saunders added that she is looking forward to being able to train others.

“The sessions were great and it’s good to see that we can use our previous knowledge to cross-reference the new information that we have received. I am looking forward to having my own students and passing on what I have learnt, so they can do the same. I have to express thanks to my water sports director and the team that have given us this opportunity,” Saunders shared.