Healthcare and Hardware at HOSA SLC

Bustling students took over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on 25 and 26 March to attend the HOSA Spring Leadership Conference (SLC).
HOSA Canada has been organizing the annual SLC since 2014 with the goal of giving students an opportunity to learn more about and engage in activities related to the health sciences. Students compete in one of over forty competitive events, which are separated into a secondary and post-secondary tier. The events are grouped into five categories: health sciences, leadership, emergency preparedness, health professions, and teamwork. Competitors can choose to do an individual event such as Nursing Assisting or a team event like HOSA Bowl, which tests teams of three to four students on their general health-related trivia knowledge. Each event includes a multiple choice exam, while some additionally involve a demonstration round where students present practical skills in front of judges. Qualification for the demonstration round is determined by a competitor’s exam score as well as the number of participants in the event.
Close to one hundred and ten students represented Marc Garneau CI this year, competing against thousands of other students from all across Canada. Thirty-seven students from the MGCI chapter placed in the top ten in their category, including ten students who placed in the top three and qualified to attend the HOSA International Leadership Conference (ILC), which will be held in Orlando, Florida from 19 to 22 June 2019.
This year, the MGCI chapter had close to twenty more members than in 2018, with the club continuing to grow each year. Chapter President Grace Xiong attributed this rise to “the openness of [the club] to new members.” Gabriel Luo, a Grade 12 student, commented on why he decided to join HOSA in his last year of high school: “I heard that HOSA was a great way to develop practical skills and with my prior knowledge in CPR and first aid I felt that I would do well in a competitive setting while learning more about medical science.” At SLC, when they are not studying or competing in their events, students can also participate in various workshops. The workshops allow students to learn new skills and attend a panel with different professionals. Workshops include Casting, Dental Molding, Drug Detection, Intubation Skills, IV Insertion, Measuring Vitals, Medical School Panel, Neurological School Panel, SAT vs. ACT, ECG Interpretations, Suturing and Anatomy, and others. Grade 9 student and participant Daniel Neagu spoke of his experience in the sessions, saying, “ECG Interpretations was a sublime experience. I felt my heart race and my body shiver as I learned about the heart.”
Many students were impressed with the 2019 award ceremony, largely referring to the improvement in pace and organization compared to the previous year. When asked to share her thoughts on the organization of the competition, competitor Zoe Cheng said that the “scenarios and judging went smoothly.” However, she added that organization could be improved since her event was held back by about forty minutes. The timing of events has been a frequently-raised issue in previous years as well. Remarking on the school’s performance at the event, Grace said, “We are so impressed with the success our chapter saw this year! Members worked extremely hard preparing for the conference, and we were glad to see their efforts pay off.”
The Reckoner congratulates the following students on their achievements at the 2019 HOSA Spring Leadership Conference:
Amy Chen – Top 10, Biomedical Laboratory Science
Janet Cheng – Top 10, Biomedical Laboratory Science
Jessica Guo, Gabriel Luo – 1st Place, CERT Skills
Serena Meng, Erica Yip – Top 10, CERT Skills
Molly Feng, Christina Zhang – 2nd Place, EMT
Anirudh Goel, Vinson Zhang – Top 10, EMT
Najifah Tasnim – 1st Place, Epidemiology
Lavan DeSilva, Jacqueline Huo, George Paraschiv – 3rd Place, HOSA Bowl
Renee Jiang, Angela Pang, Justin Ye – 4th Place, HOSA Bowl
Fardin Islam, Victor Guo, Rong Tao Luo – Top 10, HOSA Bowl
Arthur Xu – 3rd Place, Knowledge Test – Growth and Development
Tina Wei – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Growth and Development
Evelyn Jiang – 3rd Place, Knowledge Test – Medical Law
Alex Shen – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Medical Law
Aiman Altaf – 2nd Place, Knowledge Test – Nutrition
Glenda Zhai – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Nutrition
Lauren Liu – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Nutrition
Bridget Huh- Top 10, Knowledge Test – Pharmacology
Amy Peng – 3rd Place, Top 10, Knowledge Test – Transcultural Healthcare
Marzan Hamid – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Transcultural Healthcare
Megan Li – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Transcultural Healthcare
Emily Lai – Top 10, Knowledge Test – Transcultural Healthcare
Janet Chen – Top 10, Medical Spelling
Sophie Yang – Top 10, Nursing Assisting
Ryan Chang – 1st Place, Researched Persuasive Public Speaking
Aimee Li – Top 10, Researched Persuasive Public Speaking
India Das-Brown – Top 10, Researched Persuasive Public Speaking
Josephine Davey-Young – 1st Place, Sports Medicine