High Schoolers to Experience Realistic Health Care at Annual HOSA Conference
Now in its 10th year, with the theme of “Shatter Your Expectations,” the HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) conference will feature more than 40 academic breakout sessions, competitive events and awards, an exhibitor/college fair and networking opportunities. Students will learn about various health care topics and equipment such as Virtual Reality Goggles and EMT, Suturing and Knot Tying, and OB/GYN Simulation. The University of South Dakota’s Health Affairs Mobile Unit (HAMU), a 40-foot RV transformed into a fully functioning simulated patient room, operated by the university’s School of Health Sciences, will also be available.
South Dakota HOSA is a student organization that earned its national charter in 2012-13. The program was created under the auspices of the South Dakota Area Health Education Center and the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, tailored for students in South Dakota. The program encourages and builds confidence in students interested in health care careers--many of them from the state’s smaller communities--with the specific goal for them to enter formal training and subsequently practice health professions in South Dakota.
“With nearly 25% of South Dakota high school students showing interest in the health sciences, it’s imperative that we help these students pursue their dreams of becoming health care professionals,” Brock Rops, executive director of South Dakota HOSA and organizer of the conference, said. “We want to build better candidates, promote workforce opportunities in South Dakota and encourage them to stay here to live and work. This demographic is an important pipeline to filling more health jobs, especially now with the dire workforce need.”
Growth in statewide HOSA programs and the conference has continued to rise in the past 10 years, beginning with 250 students and seven pilot chapters, to now more than 40 chapters and 850 students involved.
Partners in the 2022 State Leadership Conference are USD School of Health Sciences, South Dakota AHEC, Sanford Health, Avera Health, Monument Health System, Southeast Technical Institute and First Premier Bank.
Visit www.sdhosa.org for more information about the South Dakota chapter of HOSA and the upcoming State Leadership Conference.
