About the Arkansas HOSA State Leadership Conference:

Each year Arkansas HOSA - Future Health Professionals hosts a State Leadership Conference in the spring for members. The 2022 State Leadership Conference, which was held over two days in March, was attended by 650 members who met at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

​

The conference gives student members the opportunity to further develop and build leadership skills, acquire health care related competencies through competitive events, and gain networking opportunities with students across the state who share similar interests and goals.

The Arkansas HOSA State Leadership Conference also features industry partners as exhibitors, giving them the opportunity to interact with the largest gathering of future health professionals in the state.

In 2022, 45 Competitive Events were featured, with each member allowed to compete in one event.  The Competitive Events Program is designed to motivate HOSA members and provide a system for recognizing the competencies developed by members through Health Science and Biomedical Science class instruction, related job training, and HOSA related activities. 

Competitive events motivate HOSA members to improve their knowledge and skills.  HOSA provides an international competitive events program as a means of recognizing those students who are willing to pursue excellence by preparing for competition and having the determination to attend a conference and participate in a competitive event. 

The top three competitors in each event are awarded a medal and are eligible to compete at the HOSA International Leadership Conference (ILC).   

​

In 2022, 100 Arkansas HOSA members attended the ILC in Nashville, TN.  The 2022 Conference set a HOSA record with over 11,000 members attending.

Five Arkansas students earned Top-10 Finalists Awards:

• Pavani Chittemsetty, Bentonville West High School: 5th Place Medical Spelling

• Adrian James and Kaitlin Hobbs, Conway Career Center: 7th Place Emergency Medical Technician

• Parishee Bajaj, Haas Hall Academy Rogers: 4th Place Pharmacolgy

• Preston Vo, Haas Hall Academy Bentonville: 9th Place Foundations of Medical Terminology - Middle School

Meera Arunkumar, from Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, won the prestigious HOSA Scholarship.

Rachael Thumma from Bentonville High School, Arkansas HOSA State President in the 2021-2022 school was elected as the HOSA International Central Region Vice President. Rachael is the first Arkansan ever elected to the 8 member HOSA International Executive Council. The council is responsible for leading the over 240,000 HOSA members worldwide.

​

The 46th Annual HOSA International Leadership Conference will be held June 21-24, 2023 in Dallas, TX.