The Pius X Future Healthcare Leaders Club is joining with the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA).

HOSA is a national organization where students who are planning on entering the medical field get the opportunity for hands-on learning experiences and get to learn more about healthcare professions.

Kenna Morgan, the secretary of the Nebraska HOSA chapter, visited the club to explain the organization and the benefits of joining.

“I learned more about the education that’s available to me and the jobs that are available,” Morgan said. “Networking with healthcare professionals allowed me to get my foot in the door and understand what I really want to do.”

Members of the Pius X club are enthusiastic about joining HOSA. The students are excited about the upcoming October conference in Omaha where they will get experiences like drawing blood, using an AED, and working on real cadavers.

“I’m also looking forward to learning first aid and getting CPR certified,” senior member Clairvaux Villa said. “That will be really useful information, knowledge and experience.”

The club is relatively new, having started just last semester. Joining HOSA will help give the club more structure and be even more beneficial to students hoping to pursue medical careers.

“As of right now the club has mostly just been parents coming in to talk, where HOSA’s going to give us more hands-on opportunities,” club sponsor and school nurse Holly Steinbach said. “HOSA gives a wider opportunity to get into conferences, and it’s going to help connect us with more people interested in healthcare.”