Step 1- Get to Know HOSA
Spend time learning about the benefits of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and how HOSA can fit within your school/organization and help you connect your classroom to industry partners. Does your organization already have a health science program in place?
Step 2- Identify Potential Members
Nobody knows your students better than you. Find students interested in a career field in healthcare. To have an official HOSA chapter, you will need a minimum of 5 members and an advisor.
Step 3- Identify a Health Science Instructor to Serve as an Advisor
Visit the “Advisors” link to learn about the roles and responsibilities for advisors along with guides in planning to become a new HOSA chapter.
Step 4- Seek Approval and Recognition From Your School’s Administration
A great way to do this, is to have a core group of interested students, along with the potential advisor/teacher(s) approach your principal or superintendent. Let them know the benefits HOSA can have on both its members but also your greater community and be prepared to answer questions about Montana HOSA.
Step 5- Have your Local Advisor Contact the Montana HOSA State Director
Katie Meier is the Montana HOSA state director who has experience running chapters in both small, rural schools and urban areas. She can help give you the resources to get your chapter started and connect with other chapters for mentorship and help.
Step 6- Affiliate Your Chapter With National HOSA
Once the previous steps have been accomplished, Montana HOSA will give you an affiliation packet along with a charter number and password to begin the online affiliation process. You will pay national ($10) and state ($10) membership dues for each affiliated member per academic year.
Step 7- Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!
Grow your membership by using posters, brochures, and videos provided by Montana HOSA. The more students you can engage, the more energized your organization will be. Don’t forget: students, teachers, administration, healthcare professionals, and alumni can all be apart of your local chapter.
Step 8- Elect Officers
Every chapter in Montana runs their leadership team a little differently. Attending the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) and signing up for a mentor can help you develop the best process for your organization. Your mentor advisor can share with you examples of ways various chapters set up meetings, elect officers, and assign duties based on their vast experiences.
Step 9- Plan Activities
Developing a strong Program of Work (POW) will help you engage and retain membership by helping your members reach their career learning goals. This includes: service learning, career exploration, skill development, as well as social activities. Stay proactive in this. In order for members to stay engaged, involved, and really enjoy their experience, have your officer team brainstorm ways to connect with community and healthcare partners and research the competitive events program to integrate training and workshops into your meetings.
Step 10- Integrate HOSA in the Classroom
While it helps to have a health science program in your school to integrate with, HOSA can integrate well into a lot of other classrooms for cross-curricular collaboration. Go to our resources page and choose “Health Science Curriculum Resources” for ideas.
Step 11- Attend Conferences
Montana HOSA hosts two annual conferences- a Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) and a State Leadership Conference (SLC). Click on the conference page to learn more.
National HOSA also hosts two conferences for students each year- Global Leadership Academy (GLA) in Washington D.C. in the fall and an International Leadership Conference (ILC) at a rotating location each June.
