By Staff Writer: Marissa VanDaelen
Howell High School Health Occupations students will soon be competing in state competitions. HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) is a national student organization that promotes career opportunities in the health care industry. HOSA state competitions are to be held in Traverse City on April 23 through 26. There are 13 HHS students participating in states this year.
“Students that are going to states pick the competition they want to compete in. There are about 58 competitions they can chose from. Some of them include tests on pharmacology, pathophysiology, and medical terminology. The other ones are skill-based where they have to go perform a skill like nurses aid skills, sports medicine skills, EMT skills, and job seeking skills. There are all kinds of different competitions,” says Mrs. Cathy Highfield, the Health Occupations teacher.
Normally, when students go to states it means that they already qualified in regionals. Unfortunately, due to the weather, regionals were canceled.
“Thankfully, the HOSA rules and regulations allow for if because of extenuating circumstances a competition is canceled, those students that had been registered to go to regionals can automatically go to states. So that’s what’s happening this year,” Mrs. Highfield says.
If students place in the top three in their particular event at states, they will receive recognition, a medal, and possibly scholarships. They will also qualify for nationals. Nationals are sometime in June in Orlando, Florida.
“There’s a scholarship that the students can apply for but it has nothing to do with their competitions. I know Baker College gives a scholarship to anybody who places first place in their event though so there are some colleges that do that. There are more colleges that do it at the national level but it is possible to get a scholarship,” Mrs. Highfield says.
Even if a scholarship isn’t given at states and none of the students place highly, HOSA is still an enjoyable event to participate in.
“I think it’s good for the students to take part in. I’ve never had a student tell me that they wish they never went. They‘re all really excited about it and want to do it the next year. It’s an opportunity for them to meet a lot of other students across the state of Michigan that have the same interests as they do. Everyone there is really focused and respectful. It always ends up being a nice group of kids that all get together and have a lot of fun. They enjoy the comradery with other people,” Mrs. Highfield says.
Among the HHS students going to HOSA states is senior Angela Harrington.
“HOSA is a way for me to get more experience with Health Occupations. Last year I did a HOSA bowl and we had to learn a lot of medical information and history. We had to know anatomy terms and about the actual HOSA foundation as well. It was pretty much like quiz bowl and it was a cool experience. It’s like you’re learning and you’re getting more involved. Also, just being at HOSA is a lot of fun and I can’t wait for states,” Harrington says.
After looking over all of the skills available to compete in, Harrington decided to compete in Nursing Assisting.
“I’m doing a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) skill and I’ll be receiving my CNA this year because of the Health Occ. II program. I want to practice more of my skills before I go for the states test. I decided to pick nursing assisting as my skill because I feel pretty comfortable with it. It’s one of the bigger skills picked too. I think 52 people competing in states this year are doing that skill. Basically with my skill, you have to do hand-washing, bed-making, taking care of a patient or a resident, taking a resident from their bed to a wheelchair, feeding a resident, things like that,” Harrington says.
For a CNA skill, Harrington will have to take a written test beforehand. For most skills, people have to take written tests beforehand. If Harrington gets in the top test scores, she’ll then perform the actual skills in front of judges.
“I’m excited to compete. One thing about states is that you get to meet a lot of people. So when you’re waiting in the room to be evaluated, everyone’s sitting there testing each other. Even if you’re not from the same high school or facility, you’re trying to make sure that everyone does well. You don’t want anybody to fail. It’s a really fun, upbeat environment in there but when you get in front of the judges, you do get a little nervous. They’re kind of intimidating,” Harrington laughs.
During competition, with Harrington’s skill and any skill, it’s important for the competitors to show they care and that they know how to handle certain situations.
“I think I’ll do pretty well at states because just doing our clinicals and being at nursing homes, I realized that our teacher has prepared us more than needed. We’ve been taught about quality care more than time management so we actually take care of the resident a lot more too. We’re more concerned about how the resident is doing in front of a judge. Instead of just doing the mandatory skill, we’re going to end up asking the resident if they’d like added care like their hair done or their nails done. The extra care will add more points and show that we know what we’re supposed to be doing,” Harrington says.
Harrington definitely seems ready to begin competing and is certain that she will not regret the competition. From the sound of it, it seems as if everyone is enthusiastic about heading to states.
“This is our eighth year and I’ve never had a problem with any of my students. They’ve all been very enjoyable which makes it enjoyable for me. It’s really fun going to states with everyone,” Mrs. Highfield says.
