Whether you are new to scuba diving or an experienced scuba instructor, you’ve probably heard “DAN” mentioned more than a few times.

Most of us know that DAN plays an important role in dive safety, probably from purchasing some form of dive insurance from them throughout the years. One of the best-known perks of DAN is the 24-hour availability to speak with dive medical specialists (For DAN’s emergency hotline: +1 (919) 684-9111).

But DAN is much more than answering phones and dive insurance! It wasn’t until I walked through the doors of the headquarters that I began to understand the true scope of its services. DAN is a global leader in dive safety education, research, products, and services like providing emergency medical assistance — and not just limited to diving!

Figure 1. Patty Seery, Director of Training at DAN and PADI Course Director, Jim Gunderson, Assistant Director of Training at DAN and NAUI Course Director Trainer.

This summer, I am the 2019 OWUSS/DAN Dive Safety Education Intern working with Patty Seery and Jim Gunderson. Like Patty and Jim, the many people I have met here at DAN are incredibly passionate about dive safety and accident prevention through education. From the medical professionals to the masters of IT, everyone plays an important role in making DAN accessible to divers across the world. I started my time here meeting with the head of each department: research, communications (including writers of Alert Diver), marketing, insurance, membership, IT, warehouse, and risk mitigation. DAN requires all the essential elements like any company, including marketing devices, a mail room, and lots of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Since a large goal of DAN is safety education, my work this summer involves revisions to DAN’s first aid courses for international utilization. Because DAN is a globally recognized organization, it is important that all materials continue to match guidelines for first aid in different countries and are understandable, accessible, and inclusive to partners across the world.

Aside from my position, DAN offers summer research internships. I had the opportunity to serve as a practice patient for their studies.

Figure 2. My heart! Frauke Tillmans, Ph.D., using an echocardiogram. Research interns are practicing using these procedures as part of their studies to look at bubbling in divers.

Although we work hard in the office, we like to have fun outside, too. On the weekends, the best place to find me is underwater.

Figure 3. DAN crew diving at Blanch quarry. From left to right: Hannah DeWitt, Tess Helfrich, Caitlyn Ruskell, Jim Gunderson, Andrea Filozof, Frauke Tillmans, Alex Romfoe, Chloe Strauss, George Anderson, Abbey Dias (me), Shelli Wright. Interns testing out waterproof EKG leads during the dive for research.

I am looking forward to helping make our dive community increasingly safer and more accessible to people across the world!

Figure 4. Me, feeling like a saltwater fish in freshwater, learning to be euryhaline at Fantasy Lake (NC). Photo by Tess Helfrich.