General Rules and Regulations

 
Click Here for Printer-Friendly Version (HOSA Handbook Section B)
 
Accommodations
1.  HOSA members with disabilities, and non-English speaking competitors, will be reasonably accommodated in the HOSA Competitive Events Program through event modification as a means of providing them an equal competitive opportunity.  Such members may be allowed to provide and utilize their own special equipment that HOSA may not be able to provide.  Requests for reasonable accommodation must be indicated on the HOSA International Leadership Conference registration form, or Student Eligibility form in Special Needs events, and must be submitted to HOSA-Future Health Professionals by the May 15th deadline.  HOSA will provide the same accommodations that were provided when they competed for eligibility to attend the ILC (normally their SLC). 
 
Cell Phone and Electronic Devices Policy
 
2.   Please refer to Appendix G for the Cell Phone and Electronic Devices Policy.
 
Eligibility for International Participation
 
3.   HOSA’s affiliated chartered associations offer the HOSA Competitive Events Program at the Regional, Area and/or State/Country levels, according to the approved HOSA Competitive Events Guidelines (as released annually in the fall).  It is recommended that chartered associations plan and conduct the Annual Conference in sufficient time to meet the International Leadership Conference (ILC) registration deadline of May 15th.  (Note: The HOSA ILC is held in June each year.)
 
4.  Chartered associations may submit a maximum of three (3) competitors/teams per event per division, with the exception of Recognition events as noted in Rule #10 of these General Rules and Regulations.  If ties or event challenges result at the association level, chartered associations must implement a process to determine which three (3) competitors/teams per division may register for the international leadership conference.
 
5. To be eligible for competition at the ILC, a delegate must be a member of HOSA, registered on a chapter roster, no later than January 1 if the member is enrolled in the Fall semester; Spring enrollees must be affiliated by March 1 or within thirty (30) days of the beginning of a program initiated during the Spring semester.
·         Chartered Associations determine and publish specific competition eligibility deadlines.
·         All participants must adhere to the eligibility requirements as specified in the individual Competitive Event Guidelines.
·         Members are not eligible for competition at the ILC if they are not affiliated with HOSA-Future Health Professionals
           prior to their respective chartered association’s leadership conference.
 
6.  Competitive event participants must be registered for HOSA’s International Leadership Conference by May 15th.  Registered participants may be dropped, or other eligible students may be substituted, until the state advisor has completed registering the chartered association with competitive events at the ILC.   All participants are officially entered when the HOSA advisor (or his/her designee) verifies the chartered association’s registration.
 
7.  Individual and team participants must have competed in the same competitive event at the state (country) level for which they are entered at the international level.  The competition must have taken place in the school year immediately preceding the HOSA International Leadership Conference.  (Substitutes on a team are not required to have competed in the event at the state/country level.)
 
8.  HOSA members may enter only one competitive event in competition at the ILC.  In addition, competitors may participate in as many Recognition Category Events as they wish.
 
9.  EVENT STATUS - Skill events must have a minimum of three (3) states and nine (9) total competitors (Secondary and Postsecondary/Collegiate) in order to have the skills procedures implemented at the ILC the following year.  Events not meeting this criteria will have a written test only.  This written test will include clinical written application or scenarios. For the Middle School division, all events must have a minimum of three (3) states and three (3) total competitors in order to have the event implemented at the international level the following year.  The event status will be evaluated annually.
 
10. In Recognition events, each chartered association may register the following number of competitors:
·         Outstanding HOSA Chapter:  All chartered association Outstanding HOSA Chapter earners.
·         Healthcare Issues Exam:  25% of the ILC student delegates from the previous year.
·         National Service Project (HOSA Service Project):  One per chapter
·         Barbara James Service Award:  Unlimited
·         HOSA Happening:  One per chapter
·         Outstanding State Leader (Outstanding HOSA Leader):  One per chartered association
·         MRC Volunteer Recognition:  Unlimited
·         Outstanding HOSA Achievement: One per chartered association
 
11.  All HOSA competitors must be active members of HOSA in good standing as established by HOSA-Future Health Professionals.  In good standing means that they must have a minimum of five (5) members in their chapter, an advisor, and their affiliation fees paid in full.
 
Equipment
 
12. FAILURE TO BRING EQUIPMENT – Competitors who fail to bring the required material/equipment as specified in the Competitive Events guidelines for any skill/procedure used in any event will be allowed to compete but will not earn points for all or part of the procedure(s) that require the missing material/equipment.
 
13. EQUIPMENT FAILURE – It is the competitor’s responsibility to assure that the equipment they bring to the event and use as a part of the event is in good working order.  Equipment failure (when the equipment provided by the competitor) may result in an inability to judge all or part of an event that involves the use of equipment.  This includes battery-operated laptops.
 
14. PODIUM – When a podium is provided during an event, the use of the podium by the competitor(s) is optional.
 
Ethics
 
15.  Appointment times are given to competitors in many of the HOSA events to avoid detaining them in holding rooms for long periods of time.  Professional ethics demand that competitors DO NOT discuss or reveal the secret topic or scenario for ANY event until after the event has concluded.
 
16    ETHICS AND INTEGRITY – As future health professionals, HOSA members are held to a higher standard in regard to their ethical behavior as competitors.  HOSA members should follow the HOSA rules and act with honor at all times. Plagiarism, copyright violation and falsification of information are prohibited.  Any attempt to gain an unfair advantage will not be tolerated.  Violation of the ethics rules will be severely penalized.
 
17. CODE OF CONDUCT – Any competitor who violates the HOSA Code of Conduct during the course of HOSA’s International Leadership Conference may forfeit any award won during the conference. 
 
Event Content
 
18. INDEPENDENT WORK – Except for team events, competitors must work independently, without assistance from judges, teachers, fellow students or observers.  Any attempt to gain an unfair advantage will be considered a violation of Rule #16.
 
19. CONTENT SELECTION – Competitors should use good judgment and discretion when planning event content.  Procedures, demonstrations, displays or speeches with content that could be interpreted as insensitive, invasive, or of a highly personal nature should be avoided.
 
20. CHANGING EVENT CONTENT – When advancing from one level of competition to the next (such as from state/country to international competitive events), except where expressly prohibited, competitors are allowed to change/improve their speech, notebook, scrapbook, portfolio, or any other event products as a part of the competitive event.
 
21. NOTEBOOK PAGE CLARIFICATION – When a section of a notebook or portfolio indicates a range of pages, if a competitor uses fewer than the maximum number of pages, he/she CANNOT add pages in another section.
 
22. MATERIAL SUBMISSION – Unless otherwise noted in the event guidelines, all copies and materials submitted at the International Leadership Conference as part of the HOSA Competitive Events program becomes property of HOSA-Future Health Professionals. Submission of materials implies consent for HOSA and/or affiliated partners, with HOSA's permission, to publish materials in newsletters, websites, blog posts, social media etc. as deemed appropriate to help market and promote HOSA along with its partners. HOSA does not sell competitor information or materials to 3rd party vendors.
 
Judging
 
23. RATING SHEETS AND TEST SCORES – Participant rating sheets and test scores are the property of HOSA–Future Health Professionals and will NOT be returned or released.
 
24. CONSENSUS POLICY – After individually rating competitors, Judges MAY compare ratings before turning in the rating forms.  If the point spread is greater than ten (10) points, judges MAY discuss why they rated the way they did and MAY chose to adjust their score, if needed.
 
25. COMMUNICATION RULE – It is the competitor’s responsibility to communicate fully and effectively with judges.  In spelling events, this may include verbalizing capitalization, separate words, and punctuation.  For skill events, this may include “thinking out loud” so that judges are clear on why the competitors are doing what they are doing.
 
26. JUDGE GIFTS – The distribution of event samples, materials or thank you notes to judges, other than those materials specified in the event guidelines for judges to review, is NOT permitted.
 
Divisions of Competition
 
27. DEFINITION OF DIVISIONS-The official definition for middle school, secondary and postsecondary/collegiate members of HOSA, for the purposes of Competitive Events registration and participation, is:
 
Middle School (MS)– A middle school student is one who: a) is enrolled in a state-approved health science program or is planning to pursue a career in the health professions; and b) has not been promoted to a secondary institution (grades 9-12) prior to the state’s/country’s annual conference.  He/she must be in grades 6-8.
 
Secondary (SS)– The Secondary Division shall be composed of secondary students at the junior high (9th grade) or high school level (9th-12th).
 
Postsecondary/Collegiate (PS/C)– The Postsecondary/Collegiate Division shall be composed of undergraduate students who (a) are enrolled in a state-approved postsecondary program at the community college level or college level program; (b) have received a high-school diploma (or its equivalent) or (c) have been out of the continuous, sequential educational system prior to the current enrollment for two or more years prior to the current year’s HOSA International Leadership Conference and/or enrolled in a health career program in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree.
 
28. SECTIONS – Separate sections of each event shall be conducted for middle school, secondary and postsecondary/collegiate unless stated otherwise. Competitors/teams may have the same section number or may demonstrate their skills for the same judges, but the divisions will not compete against each other.  Individual and team competitor numbers will be randomly assigned by the computer.
 
29. TOPICS – Secret topics, tests, and event procedures will be the same for all levels (MS, SS and PS/C) in the same event, unless otherwise noted.
 
Point Deductions
 
30. EVENT TIME – All competitors must be at their competitive event at the designated time and place.   For non-testing events, ten (10) penalty points may be assessed if the competitor is more than 5 minutes late to their appointed time. For testing events, refer to GRR #46.  For possible special circumstances, prior arrangements must be made by the State Advisor through HOSA Management.
 
31. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE EVENT ORIENTATION may result in the loss of ten (10) points.  Registered participants must attend the scheduled orientation session at the International Leadership Conference for the event in which they are competing.  Check guidelines for events allowing a proxy.  A proxy may be an advisor or student who is qualified to communicate to the competitor the information shared at the orientation.  A completed proxy form is required.  At least one (1) team member must attend the orientation for team events.  When a team member is representing others on a team, he/she must bring a completed proxy form.  All competitors must be present at the orientation for those events in which the orientation includes Round One or other event component.
 
32. EVENT GUIDELINES AT ORIENTATION – Event personnel often refer to the event guidelines during the event orientation, and for that reason, competitors are required to bring a print or electronic copy of the guidelines (at least one copy per team) to the event orientation.  Failure to bring the guidelines to the event orientation will result in a five (5) point penalty.  Competitors are not required to bring their guidelines to any activity beyond their event orientation.
 
33. PENALTY POINTS – If judges feel there is a rule infraction that is not addressed in the written guidelines or processes, they may assess penalty points after consultation with HOSA CE Management.  If the competitor is stopped at the time limit for any event, there is no additional penalty. 
 
Sections
 
34. NUMBER OF SECTIONS – The Competitive Events Management Team will determine whether (and how many) sections will be scheduled for each Competitive Event at the HOSA ILC according to the number of registered participants.
 
35. FAIRNESS BETWEEN SECTIONS – A mathematical formula – called standard deviation - will be used for multiple sections in selected events.  The computer adjusts the judges’ scores to account for judging differences, such that all sections are considered to the mathematically equal.  Such a process provides a statistically fair method for evaluating students in multiple sections with multiple sets of judges.  The formula can be found in the HOSA Handbook, Section B – Appendix A.
 
Skill Events
 
36. SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT – The Competitive Events Management Team will determine which skills are to be performed for skill events, based upon criteria which include space arrangements and condition of available sites, availability of equipment and similar factors pertaining to operation of these events in a particular year.
 
37. POINTS AND TIME WITH COMBINED SKILLS – When multiple skills are used and steps in skills are duplicated on the rating sheet but not in practice, points will be awarded one time only.  In such cases, the amount of time allowed for the total skill may be adjusted by the Competitive Events Management Team. Competitors would be notified of total time allowed via the written scenario.  For example, in CPR/First Aid– If a victim has a burn and fracture, the competitor would only call 911 one time and would only receive points for that step one time.
 
38. SKILL EVENT SCENARIOS – Events that require the performance of a health-related skill use a written scenario to give information to the competitor about the setting and skill to be performed.  The timing of the skill performance begins when the competitor (team) is given the scenario.  Competitors must read quickly and begin the skill performance promptly.  Competitors may keep the written copy of the scenario as a reference as needed during the performance of the judged skill.  For events that use a scenario (Life Support Skills and Personal Care), and are specifically for competitors with special needs, the scenario will be read out loud to all competitors.
 
39. OFF-SITE EVENTS – Due to the distance between the hotels and skill event sites in some skill events, competitors should be prepared for an extended stay.  It is strongly suggested that competitors bring recreational materials.  Food and/or snacks may be available for purchase at the sites if at all possible.  Just in case, the competitor should be prepared and have his/her own snacks available.
 
40. HIGHEST LEVEL OF TRAINING – Competitors should compete in skill events at the highest level of training.  An example would be students enrolled in Emergency Medical Technician course should compete in the Emergency Medical Technician event and not in the CPR/First Aid event.
 
41. HIGHEST STANDARD OF CARE – In the performance of a skill scenario, competitors are required to follow the highest standard of care when treating victims/patients.  Competitors should follow the steps on the rating sheets unless the highest standard of care required differs from the steps on the rating sheet.  Judges will know when the treatment of victims/ patients differs slightly from the rating sheet, and when the competitors provide medically acceptable care, and will award points accordingly.
 
42. MERCURY & LATEX EXCLUSION – HOSA does not use thermometers, sphygmomanometers, or any other equipment that contains mercury.  HOSA does not use latex gloves and competitors with latex allergies are requested to notify event personnel.
 
43. STUDY MATERIALS may be used in holding rooms, at the event site, and on event buses to skill sites, but may not be used during competition.
 
TEAM EVENTS
     
44. SUBSTITUTIONS – A team event must include at least 25% of the members who were members of the winning team at the state/country level. 
 
Other “qualified” student members may be substituted or added in the remaining team positions so that the number of team members is consistent with the rules for that event.  (Qualified is defined as any active HOSA member, and may include members from other chapters.)
 
45. MINIMUM TEAM MEMBERS – Teams may not compete with less than the minimum number of team members.
 
TESTS
 
46. LATE TO TEST – For all written tests, a competitor who is late to the orientation/ event will be allowed to take the test.  The competitor will stop     when all other test-takers are stopped and will not receive the full time for taking the test.
 
47. HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS - Written tests will measure knowledge and understanding at the recall, application or analysis levels.  Higher-order thinking skills will be incorporated as appropriate.
 
48. USE OF CALCULATORS – Competitors may NOT use calculators when taking any written test, unless permitted in the individual event guidelines.
 
49. TEST SECURITY – Tests and word lists for HOSA–Future Health Professionals competitive events are developed from the HOSA secure test bank for the event.  At all levels, HOSA tests are the property of HOSA–Future Health Professionals and should never be taken, copied, or shared with HOSA members or chapter advisors.  HOSA tests are provided exclusively for use by chartered associations in good standing for their competitive events and at the ILC.
 
50. TEST PLAN AND RESOURCES – The test plan and list of resources in the guidelines are designed to help the competitor prepare for the test.  Approved charter associations have the option of using the previous year’s ILC tests for their state competition use, and the previous year’s state tests for Regional/Area events.  For that reason, tests by chartered associations for their competition at all levels will reflect the test plan and/or resources from the previous year’s guidelines.  When a resource lists “latest edition”, this is the latest edition available as of the initial writing of the guidelines in August.  Any edition released after August will be used in the following year’s resource list.  After the initial release, only editorial changes will be made to guidelines, unless there is an error that would affect the outcome of the event or how competitors prepare. In this case, updated guidelines are posted online with a note to membership explaining any changes.
 
51. NEW TESTING EVENTS – For any new event that requires a 100-question test, the regional and chartered association tests will be 50 items for the first year.
 
52. PENCILS – For all written tests it is the responsibility of the competitor to bring pencils to the event.  Mechanical pencils are discouraged for use on Scantrons.
 
Dress Code
 
53. Please reference Appendix E for the Dress Code.
 
Other
 
54. INQUIRY PROCESS – A process is established to provide an opportunity for a competitive event participant to submit constructive inquiries and recommendations to the Competitive Events Management Team at HOSA’s International Leadership Conference via completion of a “Competitive Event Inquiry Form.”  This completed form must be signed by the HOSA competitor and the HOSA State Advisor and turned in to Competitive Events Headquarters within two (2) hours after the competitive event concludes (see Appendix B).
 
55. PERSONAL ARTICLES – Competitors will be asked to place personal articles (purses, bags) under their chair during a test or an event.  They may not obtain anything from their personal article until the test/event is complete.  Event personnel will NOT collect or hold competitors’ personal articles during an event.
 
56. INTRODUCTIONS – For events with judges, competitors (teams) will be introduced to the judges by the Section Leader.  At the ILC, for individual events, competitors are usually introduced by name and ID number.  For team events, teams are usually introduced by school and ID number.
 
57. OBSERVERS – There will be no observers in any of the events at the ILC except for the semi-finals and finals of HOSA bowl. Demonstration and Pilot events may allow observers.
 
58. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES – It is the intention of HOSA to fairly and consistently enforce all rules and event guidelines.  On rare occasions when circumstances are beyond the control of the competitor, such as a canceled flight, a rule can be appealed to the Competitive Events Management Team.