Getting Started

Contact New Jersey HOSA-Future Health Professionals, and indicate your interest in affiliating your school/college and students with the state association and national organization.

You will first need to register your chapter members through the national online affiliation system. This system allows you to affiliate members, view your account balance, print your membership directory, complete online registration for conferences, and more. In other words, this is where you’ll do almost everything for your chapter.

STEP 1:

Please review the entire chapter affiliation process and Section C of the HOSA Handbook (available at www.hosa.org). If you have questions about any aspect of the process, please contact the New Jersey HOSA State Office at (908) 895-2400.

To start a chapter there must be five (5) students and one (1) advisor.

STEP 2:

Decide which method your institution will use to organize one or more HOSA chapters: Institution-wide chapter (Preferred Method for High School – One chapter for all students)

A single chapter is formed for all students in all classes regardless of the number of instructors. This is the preferred method for high school and post high school institutions (community

colleges, technical schools and four-year colleges) where multiple instructors offer multiple courses. If this method is adopted, every effort must be made to get 100% active involvement by all students and instructors.

Instructor based chapter (One chapter with many committees)

One instructor forms a chapter for all students enrolled in his/her classes. While chapter meetings with all students may be difficult to schedule, individual classes can form in-class committees to plan and organize projects and activities. Each class can elect a vice president (class representative) that serves on a HOSA Chapter Council, the steering committee for the chapter.

Classroom based chapter (Several chapters; For institutions where students are unable to meet regularly)

A HOSA chapter is formed for each class of five (5) or more students with one (1) advisor. The instructor could organize multiple chapters that will conduct their business meetings and activities independent of each other. Each chapter elects an officer team, and for large projects, chapters can collaborate. (Business meetings and programs can be held during class time since HOSA is “curricular” and not “extracurricular.”

STEP 3:

Create a chapter constitution and chapter bylaws.

These will address officer elections, meetings, etc. (A sample constitution is available in the HOSA HANDBOOK under “Publications” at www.hosa.org. NJ HOSA’s bylaws can be found on the NJ HOSA website under the “About NJ HOSA” tab.

STEP 4:

Recruit members!

You may want to give an orientation presentation to students who can join.

STEP 5:

Address fees.

Establish processes for collecting funds and paying bills, according to your district’s policy and collect membership fees. For students you wish to affiliate after your initial affiliation, supplemental membership affiliations are accepted until March 31 of every year.

Yearly student and advisor membership fees are $18(state – $8 and national – $10), per person. These must be paid for members to be part of HOSA-Future Health Professionals. In addition, a chapter can decide to collect local chapter fees.

Do not affiliate members or register them for conferences until the student has paid.

STEP 6:

Create the foundation for the chapter.

Have members vote to approve the bylaws. Consider planning fundraisers to support the activities you plan to hold. Once the bylaws are created, start creating a program of work with the chapter advisor that is to be sent to the State Advisor to help plan for the year!

The HOSA, Inc. Board contracts with Awards Unlimited (Market Place) to provide the HOSA Supply Service. A current catalog is online and products can be viewed and/or ordered at www.awardsunlimited.com.

STEP 7:

Get involved!

New Jersey HOSA holds the following conferences:

Fall Leadership Conference (Leadership training for chapter officers)
Northern Regional Conference (first level of competitive events; only for schools in the Northern Region)
Southern Regional Conference (first level of competitive events; only for schools in the Southern Region)
State Leadership Conference (second level of competitive events; election of state officers)
International Leadership Conference (final level of competitive events; held for all state chapters in HOSA-Future Health Professionals)- held annually to recognize outstanding performance in leadership and competitions. While at the ILC, members and advisors are provided opportunities to learn about current healthcare issues. During the international conference the leadership of HOSA, Inc. and HOSA-Future Health Professionals meets and elects new representatives and officers.