Junior Rebecca Torres placed 1st during the regional competition for Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) and will advance to the state competition at the end of April. The organization aims to promote career opportunities in the health industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people. Rebecca competed in the Nursing Assisting event which required both a hands-on portion and a multiple choice portion.

“There’s different requirements for the competition but for the category I competed in I had to do vitals,” Rebecca said. “Competitors are randomly selected to compete in a category from the following options: vitals, making occupied and unoccupied beds, admitting patients, handwashing, transferring from bed to wheelchair, and several other things.”

Though Rebecca was confident in her skill set, she became nervous as winners were announced.

“I wouldn’t say I was totally surprised because I knew that I was going to place, but I thought I was going to place 4th or 5th.” Rebecca said. “When they listed the places on the screen, they started with 5th and I saw that I didn’t place, then it went on from 4th, 3rd, and 2nd and still didn’t see my name and was like ‘Oh my god, I didn’t place.’ Then I finally saw that I got first place and was really excited.” 

Health science teacher Rosie Addison believes students gain measurable skills by participating in the HOSA competitions that will later transfer to the professional world.

“I feel these competitions help students prepare for the medical field in the real world in several ways,” Addison said. “HOSA competitions afford Health Science Technology students opportunities to demonstrate personal composure in tense situations as well as improving and demonstrating communication skills.” 

Outside of the technical skills acquired during the preparation for competitions, Addison also believes students benefit intrinsically from working towards a final goal.

“The students who choose to compete in HOSA competitions boost their sense of self-esteem and confidence as a future health care worker,” Addison said. “It also highlights the student’s personal sense of academic accountability and their desire to learn more about the industry they are entering, which is attractive to competitive college/university level health science programs.” 

Teachers and students look to these competitions as a way to prepare for the future and achieve long term goals. 

“When a student chooses to invest their time and energy into HOSA competitions and develop themselves and their knowledge and skill base as a future healthcare worker, that is an investment within themselves that will always pay off in the long run,” Addison said. 

Rebecca would like to attend NYU and pursue a career as a cardiologist in the future and believes that classes like her anatomy and physiology class has benefited her to push her in the direction of reaching her goal.

“Rebecca has been successful in the HOSA competition because of her excellent work ethic, tenacity, and personal drive to succeed,” Addison said. “Rebecca is an admirable young woman who has been an absolute joy to work with, and I look forward to continuing to watch her blossom as a future healthcare professional and become a leader in both our campus Health Occupations Student Association and in the state of Texas.”