Written by Shelly Hegerle, Director of People & Culture
You may be wondering, “What is HOSA, and why do I attend?” HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) is a student-led organization dedicated entirely to health care. It provides students with opportunities to explore careers in health care, develop leadership skills, and participate in specialized competitions. These competitions range from the HOSA Bowl and Anatomage Tournament to hands-on skill events such as CPR and First Aid, Phlebotomy, Clinical Nursing, and Dental Science. This year, I had the privilege of serving as a judge for several events and hosting a booth to represent the community health center mission. The maturity, excitement, and creativity displayed by these students gives me great hope for the future of our health care workforce.
In mid-April, I will travel south on I-29 to attend the South Dakota HOSA conference in Sioux Falls, where over 900 students from 45 HOSA chapters across the state will gather for more competitions and health career fun.
The day following the HOSA conference, I was back on the road— this time heading to Coal Country Community Health Center and Sakakawea Medical Center in Hazen, ND, for their R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camp. This program, designed for eighth graders from two local communities, aims to increase awareness, interest, and understanding of the health care careers available in rural North Dakota. My role in the camp is to inspire students to explore potential careers in health care, give advice on relevant high school courses and programs, and introduce them to state colleges, universities, and technical schools that offer health care-related degrees. I am always impressed by the questions students ask at the end of my presentation. This year, an eighth grader asked me whether forensic anthropology is considered a health care career. I must admit, we googled the answer together. Seeing his excitement as he discovered its connections to health care was priceless.
The following week, I returned to Sakakawea Medical Center to meet with another group of eighth graders from neighboring communities. In total, I had the privilege of educating 160 eighth graders about health care careers. However, my scrub camp journey did not end in Hazen. The next day, I traveled to Turtle Lake, ND, for Northland Health Centers’ inaugural R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camp, this time engaging with sixth graders.
When Northland first invited me to present on health care careers, I immediately accepted. However, as the event approached, I found myself contemplating how best to engage a younger audience—keeping the content age-appropriate, maintaining their interest, and ensuring a fun and interactive learning experience.
The camp began with 53 sixth graders gathering in Northland’s beautiful community room, where their CEO Nadine Boe, welcomed them. She kicked off the session by asking, “What careers are you interested in pursuing when you grow up?” When the first three students enthusiastically responded, “I want to be a rancher,” I knew I had a challenge ahead—to introduce them to the diverse opportunities within health care and hopefully spark interest in the field.
It was a whirlwind two weeks of travel, but an experience I look forward to every year. While it may sound cliché, these students represent our future workforce. With the anticipated shortage of health care workforce, it is crucial to build excitement for the profession early on—or at the very least, plant the seed of interest in the hope that it grows into a fulfilling career in health care.
