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OTA Scuba & Swim · Katy, TX · Emergency First Response
The Course That Might
Save Someone's Life
CPR, First Aid, and AED in a single course. No diving experience required. No prior medical training required. Just the will to help.
What This Course Actually Is
Not just a diving prerequisite.
A life skill.
Yes — the PADI Emergency First Responder course is a required prerequisite for Rescue Diver and all PADI professional ratings. But that's not why we think you should take it.
You should take it because emergencies don't wait for the right moment. They happen on the road, in the water, at a restaurant, in your home. The question is never whether you'll ever be near someone who needs help. The question is whether you'll be ready when that moment arrives.
This course gives you CPR, First Aid, and AED skills in a single session. It's open to everyone — diver or not, young or old, medical background or none at all.
Imperfect care given is better than perfect care withheld
This is the single most important thing we teach in this course — and it comes directly from PADI's own instructor curriculum. Most people freeze in an emergency not because they don't care, but because they're afraid of doing it wrong. This course removes that fear. You learn what to do, you practice it until it's instinct, and you leave knowing that when the moment comes, you will act.
Once someone needs CPR, they are for all practical purposes already gone — you cannot make it worse
This is the other thing that changes people. The hesitation to act in a cardiac emergency often comes from fear of causing harm. The truth is the opposite: doing nothing is the only thing that guarantees the outcome. Imperfect CPR keeps blood moving. Perfect inaction does not.
Open to everyone — no experience required
This course has no prerequisites. No dive certification, no medical background, no prior training of any kind. If you are a human being who might one day be near another human being in distress — this course is for you.
A Personal Note from Morad
I want to tell you why this course matters to me personally — and it has nothing to do with diving.
Years ago I was driving on I-95 outside Savannah when a Ford Explorer flipped in front of us. This was during the Firestone tire controversy — that period when Explorer rollovers were happening across the country. We were first on the scene. There was a man and a woman. The man was in shock, walking in circles, asking over and over where his baby was. A car seat had been thrown onto the side of the road.
The woman was unconscious but breathing. We called 911. We searched the area for the baby. A police officer arrived and began measuring the skid marks with a wheel — paying no attention to the woman on the ground. The ambulance was dispatched but we were between exits on I-95 — five miles to the next exit, ten miles back to us.
In that time, she took her last breath. The baby, we later established, had not been in the car.
I had taken First Aid in grade school. I knew, in theory, what to do. But that training was nearly twenty years old, and in that moment, I froze. I stood there and watched.
Years later, when I was becoming a PADI instructor, my Course Director said two things I have never forgotten:
"Imperfect care given is better than perfect care withheld."
"Once a person needs CPR, they are for all practical purposes already gone. You cannot make it worse."
After hearing those two sentences, I have never been afraid to help someone in need again. I only wish I had known them earlier — on that stretch of I-95, standing next to a woman who needed someone to act.
That is why I teach this course. And that is why I want you to take it.
— Morad, Owner · OTA Scuba & Swim · PADI Master Instructor & Tec 50 Instructor
What You Learn
Four skills. One course.
All of them matter.
Primary Care — CPR
Life-saving response to cardiac arrest and breathing emergencies. Hands-on practice on training mannequins until the technique is muscle memory, not a memory test.
Secondary Care — First Aid
Assessment and management of injuries and illnesses that are serious but not immediately life-threatening. Bleeding, shock, spinal injuries, and more.
AED Use
Hands-on practice with an Automated External Defibrillator. AEDs are in airports, gyms, shopping centers, and schools — knowing how to use one in the first two minutes of a cardiac event dramatically changes the outcome.
Scenario-Based Training
We don't just lecture. You practice in realistic scenarios that simulate the chaos and uncertainty of a real emergency. This is how you build the confidence to act when it counts.
Pricing
Everything included.
No hidden costs.
With E-Learning
$249.95
Includes all PADI digital learning materials. Everything you need in one purchase.
Questions? Call us at 855-OTA-DIVE and we'll help you get started.
What's Included
- All PADI EFR e-learning materials (With E-Learning option)
- All in-person instruction
- Hands-on CPR mannequin practice
- AED hands-on training
- Scenario-based skill sessions
- PADI EFR certification upon completion
Not Included
- No additional materials or fees required
The Gateway to Rescue Diver — and Beyond
EFR Primary and Secondary Care within the past 24 months is a required prerequisite for the PADI Rescue Diver course. If Rescue Diver — or eventually Divemaster — is on your path, this is where that journey begins. And if it's not, you're still walking away with skills that matter everywhere.
Learn about our Rescue Diver course →Ready to Be Someone
Who Knows What to Do?
Dates vary — we run this course regularly. Call us or enroll online to check the next available session.
Questions? Call us at 855-OTA-DIVE
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