Introduction to Undersea Medicine Canada

There are thousands of commercial, scientific, harvesting and aquaculture, and recreational divers across Canada who require medical care by diving physicians. Until recently however, there were no regular diving medicine courses available in Canada outside of the military. Interested physicians generally needed to travel abroad for training, and although many courses are of good quality, they do not address Canadian diving regulations and safety standards, diver medical forms, or focus on the nuances of Canadian diving practices. This reduces the value of such courses to Canadian professionals.

The non-profit educational organization ‘Undersea Medicine Canada’ (UMC) was established in 2016 to offer courses in diving and hyperbaric medicine designed for Canadian physicians. Although physicians are the target audience, hyperbaric nurses and certified hyperbaric technologists (CHTs) will also benefit from these courses. International physicians are also most welcome to attend UMC courses and have greatly enriched previous courses with their knowledge and experience.

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Latest From UMC

Next Level 1 course to be held 12 - 16 May, 2025 in Summerside PEI.

A ½ day pre-course is available on 11 May, 2025 for those with no previous knowledge of diving medicine, decompression theory or gas laws.

Registration for this course will open Jan 15, 2025

About Our Directors

Dr Debbie Pestell is the Medical Director for Undersea Medicine Canada. She served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 21 years, the last ten as the Diving and Submarine Medicine Consultant for the Canadian Forces after having completed a fellowship in diving and hyperbaric medicine with the US Air Force and US Navy, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Since retiring from the military in 2011, she has worked in the Hyperbaric Medicine Unit at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, NS and provides medical support to commercial divers and diving operations across the Maritimes. Dr Pestell teaches diving and hyperbaric medicine courses internationally, and is the Past-President of the Canadian Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Association (CUHMA), www.cuhma.ca.

Dr Neal Pollock is the Scientific Director for Undersea Medicine Canada. He has long-standing ties to Duke University and Divers Alert Network (DAN), both in Durham, NC. He conducted research at Duke in the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology between 1997 and 2016, and served as DAN Research Director from 2008 to 2016, as well as the continuing medical education course director. His academic training is in zoology, exercise physiology and environmental physiology. His research interests focus on human health and safety in extreme environments, including all forms of diving. He is currently an Associate Professor in Kinesiology at Université Laval in Québec City, QC and is developing research at the Centre de medicine de plongee du Québec, Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, QC. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Association (CUHMA).

If you have any further questions or require additional information, Dr Pestell can be reached at drdeb1@ns.sympatico.ca or at (902) 225-8214.

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