Overview

The mission of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) is "to promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people."

In addition to providing technical training to students, HOSA helps its members learn dedication, leadership, and social skills--all of which are vital when dealing with people in the context of health care. The HOSA National Leadership Conference includes competitive events as well as leadership development opportunities.

Membership

The Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) is open to students enrolled in the following programs:

• Health Careers Certification - Alva Campus
• Health Careers Certification - Fairview Campus

Organization Links

National HOSA Website

Oklahoma HOSA Website

News

Students Participate in State Conference

More than 1,400 students and educators participated in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference which was held April 10-12. Four students from Northwest Tech’s Alva campus participated. The group was accompanied by Tara Thomas, Health Careers Certification Instructor. HOSA is the CareerTech student-led organization associated with health occupations education.

Lara Skaggs, state HOSA advisor, said the health care field is currently facing a shortage of workers as many nurses and medical workers near retirement age. “Students attending the conference found lots of information about career opportunities in the health care field,” she said. “Recruiters from Oklahoma City area hospitals and other health care facilities were also in attendance to offer information about incentives for health occupations students.”

More than 50 different competitive events were held for students to participate in during the conference. Many of the preliminary events were held via online testing through a partnership with the CareerTech Testing Division and their health certification web testing services. “Twenty-six events had online tests where students competed prior to the finals at the state conference,” Thomas said. “This has saved the state and HOSA more than $17,000 in transportation costs, hotel expenses, registration fees and substitute teacher pay.”

The students who participated included: Anna Zeller, Alva High School senior; Leslie Doty, adult student; Lisa Yearout, adult student; and ShiAnn Cook, Alva High School junior. Zeller placed third in the Nursing Assisting event. Doty placed fifth in the Dental Terminology post-secondary event. Yearout and Cook both participated in the Kaisler Test and will be attending the National HOSA Convention in June. Other students competing in round one events included: Cheryl Peace, Amber Jennings, Teirna Altobella, Laura Sissom, Marva Haltom, April Thiesing and Britney Bryant.

Students Elected to State Officer Team

Two Northwest Technology Center students enrolled in the Health Careers Certification program were recently elected to serve as state officers in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) student organization. Lisa Yearout, an adult student and graduate of South Barber High School who now lives in Alva, and ShiAnne Cook, a junior at Alva High School, were selected as the Northwest Post-Secondary representative and Northwest Secondary Representative, respectively.

Cook and Yearout were elected by approximately 1,200 health careers students and advisors at the 2007 HOSA Fall Leadership Conference on October 16 in Oklahoma City. The conference included officer training workshops, guest speakers and the election of the 2007-2008 HOSA State Officer Team.

At the conference, the current State Officer Team led local HOSA officers in training for presidents, vice-presidents, secretaries, treasurers, historians, reporters, chaplains and parliamentarians. Keynote speaker, Mr. Bryan Fiese delivered a dynamic address and got the students excited about the upcoming year and the opportunity to work as a team with the new state officers.

With over 4,400 members, Oklahoma HOSA is the only Oklahoma vocational student organization designed to exclusively serve the needs of students in health career programs. HOSA is an integral part of the health careers education division within the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. HOSA’s mission is to enhance the delivery of compassionate, quality healthcare by providing opportunities for knowledge, skill and leadership development of all Health Science students, therefore, helping students to meet the needs of the health care community. HOSA is a student-led organization.

To qualify for state office, each student was required to present a memorized speech, read from a script, give an impromptu monologue, interview with HOSA officials, recite the HOSA creed and pass a written test. Cook and Yearout will attend all state HOSA meetings, CareerTech Training Camp, the HOSA National Convention and next fall’s Officer Training.

Cook is studying pre-nursing and cross-training in massage therapy and Yearout is studying massage therapy. “I am proud of them.” stated Tara Thomas, Health Careers Certification instructor at Northwest Technology Center. “They did a good job on their speeches. They both take pride in their work and don’t settle for anything less than the best.”

HOSA Off to a Busy Start

The Northwest Technology Center Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) is off to a busy start this year. On October 4 th, the hosted a blood drive. The drive exceeded all previous ones at a total of 38 units of blood donated. HOSA will host another blood drive in the spring. Thank you to those who donated and participated in the blood drive. It was greatly appreciated.

On October 15 th, HOSA members volunteered their time to pick up trash along their adopted highway, a 2 mile section along highway 60 west of Fairview. They collected 23 bags of trash in efforts to keep our land grand.

The HOSA elected officers for the 2007-08 school year attended fall conference in Oklahoma City with 1500 other officers from across the state on October 16 th. This conference is to teach the officers about the office for which they were elected to better prepare them for their duties. HOSA will have a joint officer installment with other organizations from Northwest Technology Center in the fall.

Students enrolled in the afternoon class in Health Careers Certification at the Fairview Campus are (from left to right): Kayla Garner, Kala Richards, Amanda Collins, Brooke Beckner, Zach Classen, Robin Burnham, and Brittany Major.

Students Participate in Community Service Projects and Conference

The Health Careers Certification class at Northwest Technology Center has been busy this semester. The student organization, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), has played a huge role in community services. HOSA has organized a couple of fundraisers to benefit the HOSA National Service Project, Autism Speaks. The students were able to turn in their donations of $632.00 at the "Walk for Autism Research" on March 31st at Stars and Stripes park in OKC.

Several students went that extra mile in attending and participating at the State Leadership Conference in OKC April 11-13th. Samantha McDonald honored NWTC by singing the National Anthem during the opening ceremonies in front of approximately 1500 HOSA members and affiliates. Samantha was also recognized with second place in Speaking Skills competition as well as the highest honor of the Merit Award for the National Service Project Recognition. These honors intitle her to participate in the National Leadership Conference in Orlando Florida in June of this year. Also recognized at the conference was Amber Carter for her achievements with the National Recognition Program. This honor intitles her to participate at the national conference as well. Cassandra Bisel received an honorable mention for her great efforts in the competition of Job Seaking Skills.

HOSA Students attending SLC (left to right): Jennifer Roberts, Samantha McDonald, Ashley Womack, Amber Carter, and Cassandra Bisel.

The statewide campaign for trash off day was recognized by the HOSA student on April 20th. The students collected a total of 30 trash bags along the two mile stretch on Highway 60 that runs along the south of the tech center. The students, along with their advisor Debra Button, participate in this community service twice a year.

Health Careers Students Place at State Contest

Five Health Careers Certification (HCC) students from the Alva Campus participated in the state Health Occucaptions Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference held in Oklahoma City in April. All five students brought back awards.

Students competed in more than 50 different competitive events during the three-day conference held April 11-13 at the Meridian Convention center. All told, nearly 2,000 students and educators from across the state participated in the event.

Those placing at the competition were Anna Zeller, top 20 in Nurse Assistant; Daniella Smart, 4th in Dental Assisting; Krista Haltom, 2nd in Nurse Assisting; McKenzie Scott, 4th in Nurse Assisting; and Robin Garcia, 2nd in Dental Spelling.

By placing in the top three, Haltom and Garcia qualify to attend the National HOSA Leadership Conference to be held in June in Orlando, Florida.

Pictured above (left to right) are Mrs. Tara Thomas, HCC instructor; Anna Zeller, top 20 in Nurse Assistant; Daniella Smart, 4th in Dental Assisting; Krista Haltom, 2nd in Nurse Assisting; McKenzie Scott, 4th in Nurse Assisting; and Robin Garcia, 2nd Place in Dental Spelling.

Club Med Students Visit St. Mary's Hospital

Students in the “Club Med” Medical Explorers group braved the snowy weather and visited St. Mary's Hospital in Enid the end of January. The students are from Fairview High School, Canton High School and Northwest Technology Center and are interested in learning more about careers in the healthcare industry.

The event was entitled “A Day In The Life” and was designed to have students “shadow” a healthcare professional to find out more about specific job responsibilities and the skills that they use when conducting their jobs. Nineteen students participated in the day's activities.

	FHS Senior, Amber Carter identifies the heart on an X-ray in the ER Dept.  A Day in the Life of an RN.  Amber is planning to attend NWOSU and obtain her BSN.   She is currently enrolled in HCC and working on her CNA.
	Corey Cofer, FHS Senior, followed an RN in PCCU at ST. Mary's during "A Day in the Life".  He is using a pulseoximeter.  This is new technology used for taking vital signs.

“Club Med” is sponsored by Troy Hutchison, Sue Hull and Debra Button. This is the fourth year for the organization in Fairview and is designed to introduce students to occupations related to the healthcare fields. Most youth identify with nurses and doctors, but there is a vast variety of jobs to choose from, such as radiology, laboratory, rehabilitation therapist, or nutritionist to name a few. For more information on “Club Med”, contact Troy Hutchison at Fairview High School, 580.227.4446 or Debra Button at Northwest Technology Center 580.227.3708.

Alva HCC Class Makes Visit

The HCC p.m. class headed to Share Convalescent Home September 14th at two thirty for an afternoon of clinicals. The massage therapy students met their clients in the solarium, which was soon full as massage student Ricky Ward's piano skills lured them in! The residents were ready for their pampering as some of them even took off their own shoes and socks in anticipation. The dental and pre-nursing students headed to individual rooms, following a list made up by the nursing staff. There they pampered the residents by providing brushing, flossing, denture care,
as well as lip therapy. The experience was a great opportunity for the students to practice new
skills as well as provide comfort and companionship to the residents! The class left the clinical with a sense of accomplishment and some essential hands-on practice!

Alva HCC Class Visits Nursing Home

The Alva HCC class went to Beadles Nursing Home on August 31, 2006 for aromatherapy and reflexology as well as an oral care clinic. The massage students got to work with the residents by massaging thier hands and arms,
some of the residents even got to do a parafin dip on their hands or feet, which they seemed to really enjoy. Most of the residents were provided oral mouth care allowing the
dental students to assess the residents teeth and dentures. They brushed and flossed many of the residents teeth or dentures and they said it brought a smile to the residents faces. It was a good training activity to learn basic massage and dental skills as well as patient empathy.