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Category: From The Officers

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From The Officers

FLC Insider: Leadership Insights

What is FLC?

Fall Leadership Conference is a
leadership-focused event for students it
find out more about HOSA. It is an
important event for students interested
in HOSA. Students are offered leadership
training, workshops, and opportunities to
network with students and professionals
in the healthcare field. Go to
www.texashosa.org to find the date
and location for your Area FLC!

¨ Last years conference was fun,
and classes were packed. You
gained valuable ideas from
sessions where people shared
their HOSA activities and
explored topics together like
Dental Assisting.¨

Make New Connections

What to expect?

FLC is usually held at a high
school within your area. Once
there, you will view leadership
workshops, networking,
educational sessions, motivational
speakers, competitive event
preparation, idea sharing, and
tailored learning. FLC offers so
much and this is why you must
attend

Why it is important
to attend?

  • You gain essential leadership skills
    that are crucial for success in
    healthcare.
  • You are offered opportunities to
    connect with other students,
    healthcare professionals, and HOSA
    alumni, that can be valuable for
    future career opportunities.
  • Workshops are held to help you
    improve skills like public speaking,
    teamwork, and healthcare knowledge,
    preparing you for HOSA competitive
    events.
  • Your chapter can be inspired from
    other HOSA chapters activities,
    fundraisers, and projects

Raise the spirit!

FLC is the start to raising the spirit
for your area. By going to FLC, likeminded individuals who are
passionate about healthcare are
brought together with
collaboration. Some students or
chapters are even recognized for
their achievements during FLC.
GO TO FLC AND MAKE YOUR
CHAPTER STAND OUT!

Categories
From The Officers

Back to School

AUGUST 2024

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! As we step into a new academy year, let’s embrace the opportunities and challenges ahead with enthusiasm and determination. Let’s make this year the best one yet!

BENEFITS OF HOSA MEMBERSHIP

Joining HOSA offers a wealth of benefits that extend
beyond the classroom. As a member, you’ll have the
opportunity to:

  • Develop Leadership Skills: HOSA empowers you to cultivate leadership qualities that will serve you well in your future career, from effective communication to decision-making.
  • Expand Your Network: Build lasting friendships and  professional connections through local, state, and national events, forming a support system that can help guide your career.
  • Enhance Your Career Prospects: Gain valuable experience through internships, community service, and leadership roles that will strengthen your resume and prepare you for success in the healthcare field.

Your First HOSA Meeting

For your initial interest meeting, it’s crucial to create an inviting
and informative atmosphere that highlights the incredible opportunities HOSA offers. Keep these tips in mind:

  1. Engage with Purpose: Begin with a clear agenda and
    about the various events, conferences, and programs
    available to them,  emphasizing how these experiences can shape their future. Check out this link to see the full
    opportunities available for members.
  2. Highlight Opportunities: Make sure your members know year. Discuss goals, assign responsibilities, and encourage creativity in planning activities that will engage and inspire your members. Be sure to have a schedule for future meetings.
  3. Involve Your Officers: For your first officer meeting, ensure you foster collaboration and set the tone for a productive year. Discuss goals, assign responsibilities, and encourage creativity in planning activities that will engage and inspire your members. Be sure to have a schedule for future meetings.

These tips will help set the foundation for a successful year ahead, making your meetings not just effective, but also enjoyable and meaningful

Categories
From The Officers

Online Testing Update

Dates & Time

Begin your HOSA Competitive Event journey by starting your online testing. Students and advisors remember the online testing registration deadline is November 15, 2023. All areas will begin testing from November 28th – 30, 2023. The testing times will be from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm (Central Time). Accommodations forms must be completed by November 15, 2023. Students requesting accommodations will take their online test on December 1, 2023 from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Remember to clarify with your advisor the timing and location you are scheduled for.

Study

The online test will have information regarding the event you have chosen. Take time to studyyour assigned books individually or with your team. Use your own methods of studying and get enough rest prior to the rest. Refer to the Texas HOSA Handbook: Section G explaining the updated procedures for online testing.

Results

Each of the Areas will have their own section on the Texas HOSA Website to post the online testing results. Keep in mind some events advance straight to the state level or area level. Check your area to find out whether you have advanced in your event!

Categories
From The Officers

How to Set up Swab Events

So, your chapter has successfully set up a Be the Match fundraising page– now what? You can start raising money, but don’t forget to help promote the registryu itself! It may seem irrelevant since so many students are under 18 and therefore inelegible to swab, but there are so many community members who can jhoin through your chapter’s outreach. Let’s discuss exactly how your chapter can start this life-saving mission:

1. When you set up yout chapter page, the team captain should receive an email from [email protected] that includes the name of you Be the MAtch representative. This representative is your lifeline to accessing swabs and any other drive needs. Make sure you communicate wityh them the “where, when, whats” of each drive thay you coordinate.

2. Before you can guide other on how to swab, make sure you’re educated on the process yourself. It begins with a questionnaire to snure the potential donor is elegible, and at the very end it will ask whether the person is swabbing at an event or to send a swab kit to their house. If you have a swab kit ready, make sure they choose to swab at that event! This makes it easier for everyone. The swab process itself is a simple 10 second-per-cheek process. To visualize, check out this video from Be The Match. Remember, you are not swabbing the donors themselves; you are just there to guide them through the process and collec the envelopes upon completion.

Now you and your chapter know how to collect swabs.

Photos of TAMU BTM/HOSA

3. Next, bnrainstorm what events nearby could possibly have elegible people. Maybe start by recruiting teachers at your school, or tabling at senior nights or events. Reach out to the broader community by tabling at local fairs or community events. The possibilities are endless, but remember to always keep your representative in the loop with updates.

4. Each registration you obtain will be counted towards your chapter’s incentives (1 received registration=10 chapter points) if the potential donors use your unique chapter code; however, don’t forget to log volunteers hours on the HOSA Activity Tracking System to get the full credit your chapter deserves!

GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SWABBING EVENTS:

If you have people under 18 interested, still have them go to your registration website. There will be an under-18 button that will alow them to pre-register! No guardians need to be present when they join the pre-registry, as it will send the parents an automatic consent form virtually uopn submission. Be the Match will mail a swab kit to their house once they turn 18!
Be Ready to answer people’s questions about the registry. Many people are concerned with how the donation process goes, how matching occurs, and if it costs them anything. If people aren’t 100% committed to donating in the future, don’t pressure them into joining. If they do end up a match for a patiene, we do not want them to deny the donation down the road. Instead, refer them to further information via a pamphlet or the Be the Match website. More information about their commitment will help them feel confident in their decision to join the registry. If you’re interested in learning more about how to set up swabbing events, view an in-depth webinar here.

Categories
From The Officers

Richardson High School’s Dinner in a Box Project

Richardson High School’s Dinner in a Box Project

Last spring, Melissa Thurman along with the RHS HOSA officers planned the Richardson community service project, Dinner in a Box. This community based project encouraged citizens of the Richardson/DFQ community to donate food ingredients, which allowed low income families to enjoy authenthic recipes. Canned ingredients were put in a box with cooking instruictions inside, from there, these boxes were distributed to local homeless shelters across DFW. Through this project over fifty families were able to enjoy meals such as spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, barley soup, rice, chili, and apple pie!

Paving The Way for Inclusivity: Marshall Law & Medical Services High School

“At Marshall, we value inclusivity extremely highly, which is a demonstrated in our HOSA chapter. The treasurer of our chapter, Addison MArvin, is deaf. When she became elected as treasurer, we became increasingly more aware of different situations students had that were not as common as others. We have made her feel welcomed and accepted in different ways, and she uses her own accommodations like taking an interpreter with her to meetings, events and conferences. This fall at the Fall Leadership Conference, Addison took two interpreters with her and ended up meeting another dedaf girl, Mikayla, at the conference as well. In order to better accommodate their similar needs, Addison’s lunch time was switched to be the same as Mikayla’s, so that all the interpreters could work together and rotate taking breaks. All of us in the Marshall chapter are becoming more mindful of ways to help Addison with inclusivity so as to embrace this unique situation and be open to more in the future.”

-Marshall HS Law & Medical Services High School HOSA VP Valerie Villarreal

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IT IS THE POLICY OF HOSA, TA ('HOSA, TEXAS ASSOCIATION' OR 'TEXAS HOSA') NOT TO DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX OR HANDICAP IN ITS VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS, SERVICES OR ACTIVITIES AS REQUIRED BY TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, AS AMENDED; TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972; AND SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, AS AMENDED.