×

Games teach students life-saving skills

CHAMPION — High school students from 23 career centers throughout the state came together last weekend for the annual Health Occupations Students of America regional competition.

The event was hosted by the Trumbull Career and Technical Center and had students competing in health-related activities such as life support skills, CPR and first aid.

“This is an excellent opportunity for students to apply the learning that they are gaining in the classroom in an environment where they can test their skills to industry standards,” Jim Scott, HOSA state adviser, said.

He said students who compete are able to see how they are stacking up at this point in their education as they prepare for their future careers.

Scott said the competition is industry-based and allows students to measure how well they are meeting the standards in the health careers.

Judges follow standards on what students need to complete a skill or how to successfully articulate their points in a presentation.

The judges included people who are doctors, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacy technicians, dental assistants, and former career center students who are now working in health-related careers.

“Many former students come back to help the next generation at these events,” Scott said.

He said top-scoring students advance to state competition in Columbus in March and then to the international competition in Dallas, Texas.

Amy Rusnak, pharmacy technology instructor and HOSA adviser at TCTC, said the center will host the regional event for two years and then a new location will be selected.

“It is a big undertaking. The state is broken up into regions so no school has to drive too far. Some years we have had to drive an hour or two hours to get to an event,” Rusnak said.

She said students go online and select competitions in which they hope to participate.

“They can pick an event based on a strength they may have or something that piques their interest. They can do writing, CPR, or extemporaneous competitions such as medical spelling. The competition tells students what skills they need to be able to do,” Rusnak said.

TCTC students Nilvia Munoz-Espinosa and Victoria Stewart, who are juniors in pre-nursing – pharmacy tech program, said the competition allows them to use the skills they learn in class to accomplish a task.

Munoz-Espinosa said she and Stewart practiced for the event and took practice tests online.

Stewart said she feels if an emergency situation were to happen in real life, she is more prepared and ready to help someone.

“This was a great experience for us,” she said.

Erin Bradley, a registered nurse at the Bio-Med Science Academy in Rootstown, said she was a judge for the health-career display boards where students made displays of various health topics.

“The students had to talk about their display and a career that was being showcased. We judged the board on what information they had, how it was organized, was it visually appealing, and then each student made a five-minute presentation. We judged on how the students presented the information and their knowledge of the career,” Bradley said.

Holly Davis, a student nurse at Mercy College of Ohio, said she was impressed by the work the students did for their posters and the detailed information the posters contained.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
     

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today