Washington, D.C. (July 2019) This summer, HOSA members from across the nation took advantage of a unique opportunity to expand their health science career awareness and focus on college readiness by attending a Leadership Initiatives Youth Development Program, the Advanced Medical & Public Health Summit, offered July 21-27 and July 28-August 3. Whether discovering treatments for diseases or learning college application strategies, HOSA members took on real-world challenges and worked together with medical professionals in compelling, hands-on activities to find solutions to problems. Students gained skills they will use in high school and beyond, on any career path they pursue. There were 12-15 HOSA members in each cohort of sixty participants.
For more than fifteen years, Leadership Initiatives has partnered with outstanding high school students to gain real-world experience, explore future careers, develop leadership skills and experience college life. Leadership Initiatives Youth Development Programs have assisted over 10,000 student leaders in attending college, receiving scholarships, gaining SAT and ACT training, partnering with top mentors from across the globe and transforming lives. Founded on the idea that YOU can change the world at any age, Leadership Initiatives participants have created over 54 businesses across the continent of Africa, assisted low-income Washington D.C. residents in receiving a fair trial, and provided developing communities access to desperately needed medical care.
Funded by Microsoft’s YouthSpark Program and the Starbucks Foundation, the Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship Summit is a seven-day program at Georgetown University. This first-of-its-kind program pairs students with medical pioneers from across the globe with the goal of training the next generation of health professionals in emergency medicine, surgery, medical research, sports medicine, and more.
This accelerated internship provides students daily experiences to work with medical and health professionals, visit top medical facilities, become certified in first aid, CPR, and AED, learn to measure blood pressure, and practice suturing. For their final project, students studied the four most common diseases in developing countries across the globe with international medical experts. Using Microsoft and Facebook’s Oculus Rift technology, students diagnosed patients in sub-Saharan Africa with a doctor in real time and recommend a treatment. Through a partnership with the Howard University Simulation Center, students perform an abdominal ultrasound, manage an emergency room patient, and learn how to draw blood using state-of-the-art-simulation units.
In the future, HOSA’s partnership Leadership Initiatives will seek to build awareness and expand these college and career-readiness opportunities for our members.
