Milbank High School juniors Macie Redmond and Mallory Trapp earned a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National... Redmond and Trapp Qualify For National HOSA Conference

_DSC0014Milbank High School juniors Macie Redmond and Mallory Trapp earned a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National Conference June 21-26. They will join 10,000 others, including over 100 South Dakota delegates, for the fortieth year of the conference. The event will feature keynote speakers, leadership sessions, general sessions, and competitive events.

“Macie’s FFA and speech and debate background was really beneficial for her while Mallory’s strong drive and desire to become a pharmacist pushed her through to the national event,” stated Dan Snaza, HOSA advisor. Snaza was assisted by Johanna Fischer, high school/middle school nurse, who will take over as HOSA advisor for the 2016-2017 school year.

Fourteen MHS students competed in the HOSA State Leadership Conference in Sioux Falls March 31 and April 1 at the Sanford Pentagon. Redmond finished in third place in Veterinary Science and Trapp took second in Pharmacology. In addition to a trip to the national conference, both will receive a $500 scholarship.

Paige Johnson placed fourth in Dental Terminology and fifth in Dental Science and Kerissa DeBoer took fourth in Clinical Nursing. Janette Hall was close to qualifying for the national event, but lost in a tiebreaker to finish fourth in Human Growth and Development. Other students competing were: Connor Lightfield, Medical Math; Heidi Bergquist and Mikayla Street, Medical Terminology; Tanner Gauer, Sports Medicine; Clare VanDover, Physical Therapy; and Jessica Mogard and Rachelle Gabriel, EMT.
HOSA is a national organization formed to influence young people to become health professionals. Milbank High School implemented a HOSA club as a supplement to its new health careers class. Since its inception in 1976, HOSA has grown to move than 180,000 members belonging to more than 4,000 chapters in 49 states.

The Veterinary Science CEP included two rounds of testing. The first was a 50-point written test and the second involved practical skill procedures. Sample procedures included: preparing an animal for shots or operations, lifting and restraining a dog, applying or removing gauze restraint muzzles, and identification of equipment, parasites, and animal breeds and species. “I did all my studying on my own and got help from a vet clinic in town,” Redmond said. “I also watched videos online and tried different things on my dog.”

Trapp took a 100-question multiple choice test for Pharmacology. About 30% of the test was based on drug names, classifications, and action and interactions and 20% focused on drug administration. The remaining questions pertained to basic concepts. “It was kinda hard to know what to study, because we are so new to this, but I just went through questions and quizzes through the HOSA websites,” said Trapp.

While at the state leadership conference in Sioux Falls, all the students were invited to take tours of both Sanford and Avera hospitals. “We got to visit the emergency room, labs, the OB, and even went up onto the helipad and into the helicopter to visit with the pilots,” said Fischer.

Photo identification –
Left – Macie Redmond and right -Mallory Trapp

_DSC0015 (2)Students taking part in the state HOSA conference were (back row, left to right): Tanner Gauer and Connor Lightfield. Third row, Rachelle Gabriel, Heidi Bergquist, and Karlee Mertens. Second row, Paige Johnson, Janette Hall, and Kerissa DeBoer. Front row, Jessica Mogard, Macie Redmond, and Mallory Trapp.

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