Three students attending High Tech North competed in the National Leadership Conference for the Health Occupations Students of America this summer.
Each of the students scored a first place at the Florida State HOSA competition and moved on to the national conference held at the end of June inside the Gaylord Resort in Nashville, Tenn.
The competition hosted more than 6,000 students from 50 states and Puerto Rico.
On the national level, the students from High Tech North scored within the top 10 of all competitors.
Jennilee Williams finished fourth in the medical terminology competition, while finishing sixth for practical nursing was Shannon Rademacher. Carmen Gonzalez placed sixth for extemporaneous speaking.
Each student received an award of excellence and a national finalist pin.
“These results are a measure of the quality of training that the students receive from the dedicated instructors at High Tech North,” said assistant director Robert Fain in a prepared statement.
Student competitors took written and oral tests in a number of topics including clinical nursing, veterinary assistance, EMT and personal care. There are also a number of teamwork events centering around creative problem solving, medical reading, forensic medicine and more.
The 2009 competition theme was “Learning Today, Serving Tomorrow,” with an emphasis on participants learning to better serve the health care needs of the future.
“HOSA is the only student organization that is 100 percent health care and is committed to building a pipeline of health care professionals,” wrote National HOSA President Luis Baez in a letter to participants. “For many HOSA members, the National Leadership Conference provides a showcase for their talents in the HOSA Competitive Events Program.”
The competition offers students entering the health industry a chance to network with other HOSA members.
Currently, the organization has 100,000 members nationwide.
United States Surgeon General Robert Williams acted as keynote speaker for the competition. He spoke about the importance of keeping the country united as it determines its new health care policy.
Next June, thousands of competitors will travel to the national competition hosted at the Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla.
High Tech North in Cape Coral offers the community technical and career training. Programs vary in time from nine weeks to two years.
For more information on the school, visit: www.hightechnorth.com.