Emergency First Response
Age 10+
What is Emergency First Response?
Emergencies don’t wait for a good time. EFR is PADI’s CPR and first aid program, teaching you to manage a medical crisis in the minutes before professional help arrives. One day, no diving required, open to anyone. It’s a prerequisite for Rescue Diver, and the kind of training that’s useful everywhere, not just underwater.
How the Course Works: One full day on-site, no prior certification needed. Optional review materials are available online but there’s no required eLearning. Scenario-based throughout: you practice the skills, not just watch them. Primary care, secondary care, and AED use covered in sequence. Done by the end of the day.
What Skills Will You Learn?
CPR and Rescue Breathing: Compressions and rescue breathing to PADI standard. Practice hands-on in Primary Care until you can do it without thinking.
AED Use: Operate an AED confidently. Covered in Primary Care alongside CPR before you move on to Secondary Care.
Bleeding and Shock: Control serious bleeding and manage shock. Hands-on wound management techniques from the Secondary Care module.
Injury Assessment: Assess and stabilize a patient. Splinting, bandaging, spinal management, and choking response all in Secondary Care.
Emergency First Response FAQ
Do I need to be a scuba diver to take EFR?
No. EFR is open to anyone, diver or not. No prerequisites, no minimum age
Does EFR add extra days to the Rescue Diver course?
Not here. We run EFR concurrently alongside Rescue Diver so you finish both without adding days to your trip.
How long is the EFR certification valid for?
Two years. A one-day refresher renews it when it lapses.
What will I earn at the end of the course?
You will be certified for two years as an Emergency First Responder, an international basic emergency care qualification. After two years, you will need to refresh your Emergency First Response course in order to stay current.
What's EFR Training Like in Roatan?
EFR runs over a single day at the shop in West End, Roatan. Primary Care in the morning, Secondary Care in the afternoon. It’s practical and hands-on throughout. Most people are surprised at how straightforward the skills are once you’ve practiced them. These work long after you leave the island.
What Comes Next?
EFR is the prerequisite for Rescue Diver and for the Divemaster Internship. If you’re here doing Rescue Diver, we’re already running them together. If you’re building toward becoming a Divemaster, your EFR certification needs to be kept current as it expires after two years.
The course divers talk about most. Changes how you think and act underwater.
Six weeks at the busiest dive shop in West End for real-life professional training.
Four dives a day from our dock. All certified levels welcome.
9,034+ PADI Certifications
24+ Years Open in West End
4+ Daily Certified Dive Tours
Roatan's Only TEC Dive Shop
Diver Experiences
My daughter and I were here last week doing some advanced certifications. We did our Rescue Diver, Advanced Open Water and buoyancy certification, and then fun dives the rest of the week. We have been here many times and will never dive with anyone else on the island.
