From 17 to 18 May, sixty-one MGCI students competed in the 2023 HOSA Canada Spring Leadership Conference (SLC), which took place in-person at Exhibition Place, with great success. 

HOSA—Future Health Professionals is a global student-led organization where members train for one of over twenty-five events in a healthcare area of their choice. Each event involves preparation for either a written exam, practical demonstration, presentation, other submission, or a combination of these. Canada’s SLC is a national conference where HOSA members across the country display their work and compete to qualify for the International Leadership Conference (ILC).

On 17 May, students who arrived at Exhibition Place had the opportunity to participate in one or more of the many workshops offered during the two days. Some of the workshops offered include Approach to Trauma, Casting and Fractures, and Suturing and Knot Tying. This continued into the next day for those with two-round-events.

HOSA Canada SLC Closing Award Ceremony

The top ten finalists for each event were announced at the awards ceremony on 18 May, with the top three qualifying to move on to the international conference. A total of twenty-two teams from MGCI HOSA ranked in the top ten, with twelve qualifying for ILC. This year, ILC will be held in Dallas, Texas from 21 to 24 June. At this conference, students will compete with students from across the globe.

MGCI HOSA President Amy Li noted the hard work of everyone involved. “After seeing cases full of flash cards, pages of meticulous notes, and [MGCI HOSA members] testing each other for hours in exhibit B, we were definitely not surprised with any of the results.”

In preparation for the conference, MGCI HOSA executives organized a mock SLC competition, or “HOVEathon,” sponsored by dental clinic Tooth Matters.

MGCI HOSA’s HOVEathon event

The event took place after school on 11 May from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM. HOSA members from other schools joined those from MGCI for the event.

“None of this would have been possible without MGCI HOSA’s amazing exec team writing one hundred multiple-choice question mock exams, hosting monthly workshops, and keeping the club alive with the most creative promotion ever,” Amy said.

Participants had the opportunity to write mock exams and/or perform practical demonstrations;  talk to guest speaker Yan Fossat, principal investigator of the life sciences-focused marketing agency Klick Health; and participate in some of the many activities planned in the library.

“The activities were a lot of fun—especially getting turned into a mummy and paraded through the halls,” Elizabeth Soutchanksi, a Grade 9 competitor in the Emergency Medical Technician event, commented.

Mummy wrapping, a “What’s in the Box” challenge with medical supplies, and a forensic science station were among the several activities available. The evening concluded with the distribution of pizza and an awards ceremony.

“I enjoyed the chance to hang out with my friends and have fun in the midst of being stressed for the real SLC,” Elizabeth said.

Overall, the year was a success for MGCI HOSA. “This year was the first time any of us experienced in-person SLC, and I can confidently say that it was worthy of being the experience we waited three years for. Hove (HOSA love) was in the air, the workshops were so interesting and hosted by lovely med students, and I loved hanging out with all the MGCI HOSA members,” Amy said. “I have full faith that whoever is leading MGCI HOSA next year will make it a great experience—so join HOSA next year!”

 

The Reckoner would like to recognize the following students for their achievement at the 2023 HOSA Canada Spring Leadership Conference:

Anjali Gupta: 2nd place, Behavioural Health

Marissa Shang: 8th place, Behavioural Health

Andy Sun, Sam Li, Iris Lee, Chang Chang Li: 1st place, Biomedical Debate

Amanda Wu & Pyper Rajaratnam: 1st place, Emergency Medical Technician

Susannah Welke & Elizabeth Soutchanski: 2nd place, Emergency Medical Technician

Nevetha Arullinkam: 2nd place, Epidemiology

Sumit Paul: 6th place, Epidemiology

Amy Lie & Linda Lian: 1st place, Forensic Science

Antian Jiang, Ivy Liu, Lillian Li, Oriana Zhou: 1st place, HOSA Bowl

Andrew Chen, Iffat Iqbal, Jerry Hong, Jessica Sun: 4th place, HOSA Bowl

Fiona Chan: 6th place, Human Growth and Development

Anne Liu: 2nd place, Medical Law & Ethics

Michael Yang: 10th place, Medical Math

Brian Li: 2nd place, Medical Spelling

Paul Shur: 9th place, Medical Terminology

Sophie Yee: 3rd place, Nutrition

Jeremy Dai: 9th place, Pathophysiology

Veronica Davey-Young: 1st place, Physical Therapy

Donna Zhang: 7th place, Physical Therapy

Amy Li, Carrie Jiang, Vicky Wen: 4th place, Public Health

Allyson Wu: 2nd place, Researched Persuasive Speaking

Stephanie Chan: 9th place, Sports Medicine