After months of preparation, hard work, blood, sweat and tears, the Special Events Committee was able to relax after the conclusion of the 6th Annual All Campus Healthcare Symposium (ACHS). This year, ACHS occurred from 5:30 - 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 17 2009 in Grainger Hall. There were three main portions of the event:

From 5:30 - 6:45 PM, student attendees and panelists all attended a Resource Fair located in the Capital Café Commons. The Resource Fair had about 15 student organizations and academic programs participating, from the Aspiring Nurses Association (ANA) and Pre-Occupational Therapy Student Organization (POTSO) to representatives from the UW Physician Assistant Master's Program and Athletic Training Program. Lindsey Nicholson, Community Service Co-Chair of ANA, helped organize and staff a booth to promote the vision of ANA and connect with the student body. Lindsey thought that the resource fair "was a great opportunity for not only our organization to show the campus what we do on a regular basis, but also a neat way for student attendees and panelists to see the resources we offer and maybe even get further involved with ANA." Here, attendees enjoyed free food, great conversation, networking opportunities with student organizations, and even a visit from Bucky Badger!

Next, from 6:45 - 7:00 PM, Sam and Dhruv, Special Events Co-Chairs in HOSA and coordinators of ACHS, welcomed everyone at the event, gave thanks to our support and sponsors and transitioned into the next and main portion of the event.

From 7:00 - 8:00 PM, students and panelists each broke off into their respective pre-health panel (10), ranging from Pre-Medicine Underclassmen and Pre-Nursing to Pre-Public Health and Pre-Sports Medicine. Students were able to talk one-on-one with panelists, ask questions about advising and admissions, and get the sense for the work and lifestyle of within that health profession. Conversation was free flowing between students and panelists; Alexa Kuffel, Community Relations Co-Chair in HOSA and Facilitator of the Pre-Pharmacy Panel, added that "the students who attended the pre-Pharmacy panel were very eager, had lots of great questions for panelists and seemed to take a lot of useful feedback away from the event. I really enjoyed being a part of their growth as a pre-Pharmacy student!" Panelists included practicing healthcare professionals (i.e. physicians, nutritionists, dentists), admissions representatives (i.e. deans, associate deans, admission committee members), faculty and staff (i.e. professors, program coordinators) and students (i.e. medical students, pharmacy students, athletic training students).

On behalf of UW-Health Occupational Students of America, we would like to thank everyone involved in this year's ACHS; The event could never have been possible without all of your support! With over 320 participants, the event was a huge success and we look forward to ACHS 2010. We hope to make next year's event even better with your comments and suggestions, which you can please email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sam Rhyan & Dhruv Mahtta
UW HOSA 2009-2010
Special Events Co-Chairs

Thank you:
Associated Students of Madison
Wisconsin Experience Grant
UW HOSA Advisors
UW HOSA Special Events Committee
UW HOSA Volunteers
Attendees
Panelists
Student Organizations
Grainger Hall Conference Services