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Pickens Technical College is well-known in Colorado for giving all students in all of its programs the finest, career-based education around. Students are expected to learn quickly and do excellent work when they graduate from Pickens Tech, and there are many success stories of students coming out of PTC to start distinguished careers in all kinds of fields. In the Health Occupations Department, which includes the Dental Assisting Program, Personal Trainer Program, Medical Assistant and Medical Insurance Billing Specialist Programs, Nurse Aide Program, Pharmacy Technician, Practical Nursing, and Respiratory Care Program (PTC has many health occupations programs, as you can see), students are expected to better their community with the skills they acquire.

The healthcare sector in the United States, especially in Colorado, is expanding rapidly. More people are going to the doctor after the Affordable Care Act passed, allowing healthcare access to millions of people who hadn’t had it before. PTC, ever on the cutting edge of expanding job markets around the country and the world, is focused on getting students ready for careers supporting hospitals and other health centers locally and elsewhere. What I’m getting around to (after about 200 words), is that all of the many health occupations programs at PTC challenge their students in many ways so that they are prepared for the rigors of working in the healthcare system. Obviously, instructors like Kelly Pruett challenge their students in the classroom and the lab, but thanks to the support of PTC Executive Director Teina McConnell, health students at PTC are challenged in another way as well: by competing in HOSA Colorado State and International competitive events.

HOSA is a health occupation professional organization that hosts competitions for new and aspiring health professionals all over the country. Recently, PTC sent some of its students to compete in events such as Medical Photography, Creative Problem Solving, and Medical or Dental Terminology. All of these events are designed to test the skills of the students with a system designed specifically to motivate and test HOSA participants’ competencies. The HOSA competitions have state and national levels. In the latest competition in Colorado, PTC students cleaned up. They won 21 medals overall and sent 16 students to the national competitions in Nashville, Tennessee.

HOSA Competition Events are fun ways for health occupations students from across the country to test their skills in competition with each other. Winning medals for your school and your team is a great confidence builder, and the tests and competitions created by the experienced health professionals and instructors of HOSA are a great way to see if students are truly ready for the professional world. PTC students train hard for these events and it shows in competition.