HOSA – Future Health Professionals Competitive Events

Not individually. HOSA membership runs through a chartered chapter at the student's own school, so if there isn't one, the first step is to get a chapter started: at minimum five students, one qualified advisor, and school administration support. The section above lists which Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) high schools already have a HOSA chapter; if your child's school isn't one of them, it helps to talk to an existing chapter first and bring that model back to your own school.

California's official affiliate is Cal-HOSA at cal-hosa.org — be careful not to land on a similarly spelled domain with no real content. The process has two steps: the chapter advisor first completes the Cal-HOSA Affiliation Survey and gets approval from the state advisor, then completes national membership affiliation and dues payment at hosa.org. A student is only a full member, and only eligible to enter competitive events, once both steps are done.

In California, essentially yes. Cal-HOSA treats HOSA as an intracurricular component of the Health Science and Medical Technology CTE pathway rather than as a club: the school needs a qualifying CTE course sequence running, the advisor is normally expected to hold the HSMT CTE credential and teach in that pathway, and student members are generally expected to be enrolled in the pathway. CTE medical course offerings vary across Irvine Unified School District high schools, so confirm the current requirement with your school's advisor and the year's Affiliation Survey.

Membership itself is cheap: national affiliation dues are $20 per student and $25 per advisor, paid by the chapter to HOSA headquarters and non-refundable once submitted. The real expense is conferences. Families cover registration, flights and lodging for the state conference (Sacramento in 2027) and the International Leadership Conference (Philadelphia in 2027). The 2027 conference registration amounts had not been posted at the time we checked.

Four stages. Students first compete within their chapter, then take California's online CE Qualifier, then the Cal-HOSA State Leadership Conference (1-3 April 2027 in Sacramento), and finally the International Leadership Conference (22-25 June 2027 in Philadelphia, with awards on 25 June). Only event winners at the state conference represent California at the ILC. Regional Fall Leadership Conferences run in the autumn; they are not a qualifying round but are worth attending.

HOSA events fall into six categories: Health Science (written, such as Medical Terminology or Pharmacology), Health Professions (written plus hands-on clinical skills), Emergency Preparedness, Leadership, Teamwork, and Recognition events. A 10th grader with no clinical background should start with a written event like Medical Terminology or Nutrition, and run a Recognition event such as the Barbara James Service Award alongside it, then move to a skills event in 11th grade. Students at the Irvine high schools that already have a HOSA chapter can ask upperclassmen directly about event choice.

Yes. HOSA runs a Middle School division with its own slate of events, and membership still goes through a chapter at the student's school rather than individually. The middle school division offers fewer events than the secondary division, and its size varies a lot by location, so check with the school or Cal-HOSA which middle school events are actually being offered locally this season before committing.

Placing at the state or international conference is a legitimate award to list in the Common App honors section, and it reads as directly relevant for nursing, public health, pre-med intentions and University of California applications. But HOSA has a very large membership, so simply being a member carries almost no weight. What persuades readers is two or three years of sustained involvement, a specific placement in a specific event, and a chapter office with real activities behind it.