More Than 800 South Dakota High School Students To Experience Realistic Health Care At Annual HOSA Conference April 11-12

Over 800 South Dakota high school students will immerse themselves in experiences that demonstrate what a career in health care is like at the South Dakota HOSA State Leadership Conference April 11-12, held at the Sanford Pentagon, Sanford Fieldhouse, University of South Dakota – Sioux Falls campus and Southeast Technical College.

Now in its 12th year, the South Dakota HOSA-Future Health Professionals State Leadership Conference will feature more than 50 academic breakout sessions, competitive events and awards, an exhibitor/college fair and networking opportunities. Students will learn about various health care topics and can compete in nearly 60 events, such as sports medicine, phlebotomy, clinical nursing and physical therapy.

South Dakota HOSA is a student organization that earned its national charter in 2012-13. The program was created under the auspices of the South Dakota Area Health Education Center and the USD Sanford School of Medicine, tailored for students in South Dakota. The program encourages and builds confidence in students interested in health care careers--many of them from the state’s smaller communities--with the specific goal for them to enter formal training and subsequently practice health professions in South Dakota.

“Careers in health sciences are one of the top self-selected cluster by high school students,” said Brock Rops, executive director of South Dakota HOSA and organizer of the conference. “This demonstrates how interested these kids are in health care and HOSA has the resources and experiences to nurture that interest. It’s imperative that we help these students pursue their dreams of becoming health care professionals. We want to build better candidates, promote workforce opportunities in South Dakota and encourage them to stay here to live and work. This demographic is an important pipeline to filling more health jobs, especially now with the dire workforce need.”

Partners in the 2024 State Leadership Conference are the USD School of Health Sciences, South Dakota AHEC, Sanford Health, Avera Health, Monument Health, Horizon Health, SDSU, DSU and First Premier Bank/Bankcard.

Visit www.sdhosa.org for more information about the South Dakota chapter of HOSA and the upcoming State Leadership Conference.