Chamber Attendant Course
A course to train Chamber Attendants how to function as part of the therapeutic team caring for patients undergoing HBOT or recompression therapy
The hyperbaric chamber attendant, - operator and - nurses course is an introductory programme that first exposes these different members of the hyperbaric staff to the inner workings of a hyperbaric chamber. Most pressure vessels for human occupancy, whether decompression chambers, recompression chambers, or clinical hyperbaric chambers will have many of the same features. Their size and capabilities will vary greatly and be influenced by their primary objectives. Nevertheless, all of these chambers have much in common and the principles involved in providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy are common throughout. The indications will vary, but the overall responsibilities of the hyperbaric staff members will be largely the same.
Your Instructor
Dr Frans Cronje received his Medical, BSc(Hons) and a MSc degree in Aerospace Medicine from the University of Pretoria in 1991, 1997 and 2007 respectively . He completed a clinical and research Fellowship program in Diving, Hyperbaric and Underwater Medicine at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA in 2003. He is considered the pioneer of modern hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Southern Africa and has dedicated 25 years of his professional career to introduce and expand this scientific, therapeutic modality in South Africa.
He is the founder, past President and a current Board Member of Divers Alert Network of Southern Africa – a not-for-profit company dedicated to the assistance and safety of recreational divers. He has assisted many divers both directly and through the DAN emergency Hotline over the past two decades. Formerly in private practice at the first private hyperbaric medical facility at Eugene Marais in Pretoria is now Medical Director of the Baromedical Facility at University of Stellenbosch operated by the Emergency Services of the Department of Health – Western Cape. He is also a researcher and senior lecturer at the Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Division of Community Health, University of Stellenbosch.
He is the past President of the International Congress of Hyperbaric Medicine and was the host for their 17th International Meeting in Cape Town from 16-19 March 2011. Frans has also served three terms as President of the Southern African Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Association (SAUHMA) and was the founding President of the Wound Healing Association of Southern Africa (WHASA) in 2005.