About Us

The University of St. Thomas HOSA chapter was established in November of 2008. As the only established postsecondary/collegiate HOSA chapter in Houston, UST HOSA hopes to make a big impact on the National, State, and most importantly local chapter HOSA. 

HOSA: Not Just Another Health Organization

Unlike other health organizations on campus, HOSA is a nationally - recognized organization endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Technology Education Division of ACTE. The mission of HOSA is to enhance the delivery of compassionate, quality health care by providing opportunities of knowledge, skill, and leadership development to all health science technology students; thus, helping students meet the needs of the health care community.
The 2009-2010 HOSA officers established a foundational structure to the organization by focusing on 5 main missions: 1) To promote and educate our members on the different healthcare careers in order to expose them to knowledge that there is more to life than just being a general doctor.   2) To develop a Shadowing Program that can establish a link between our members to their field of study, and give them a true sense of what the profession entails 3) To prepare our members for the HOSA National Competition   4) To participate in Outreach Programs to establish connections with local High School Chapters, allowing High school students to truly grasp the college life of pre-health profession students, and to share the word about the amazing opportunity UST has given all of us.   5) To participate in Community Services projects around the Houston community.

Impact of UST HOSA

The University of St. Thomas HOSA, although young, has made a major impact among the Houston region HOSA chapters. Our officers and members have participated in HOSA Area competition as judges for various categories and have caught the eyes of many local high school Area HOSA chapters. As the only permanently established collegiate HOSA chapter in Houston, UST HOSA received invitations to many conferences and HOSA events throughout the year. In the Spring 2010, the University of St. Thomas HOSA chapter competed at its first State Competition in Houston, Texas and received a total of 17 medals, all 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, allowing the chapter to advance to the National Competition to compete with all college chapters in the United States. Furthermore, Tam Khac Nguyen was elected as the Post-Secondary/Collegiate Vice-President of Texas HOSA, making it the first for the University of St. Thomas. In June 2010, UST HOSA arrived in Orlando, Florida for the National Competition. At the end of 5 days of competition, 6 UST HOSA members received medals while 7 other members ranked in the top 10. Furthermore, UST HOSA was recognized as the 2010 Club of the Year at the University's Annual Student Leadership Banquet.

The success of UST HOSA continues in 2011 with winning 20 medals at the State Competition in Corpus Christi, Texas and Minh Hong was elected as the Post-Secondary/Collegiate Vice-President of Texas HOSA. For the second year, UST HOSA advanced to National Competition (Anaheim, California) with 5 members receiving medals and 12 others ranked in the top 10.