How Rubin Emerge Prepares Students for HOSA Competitive Events
- Mauricio Murillo
- Feb 20
- 5 min read
Your students are putting in the work. Emerge makes sure they're putting it in the right places
Table of Contents
HOSA competitive events challenge students to demonstrate far more than clinical knowledge. Events like Job Seeking Skills, Extemporaneous Writing, and Biomedical Debate require students to communicate clearly, present themselves professionally, and think critically under pressure. These are employability skills — and they're exactly what Rubin's Emerge curriculum was built to develop.
That's why HOSA advisors across the country have come to rely on Emerge as a go-to resource for competition prep and classroom instruction alike. With 600+ instructional activities covering professional communication, leadership, and career readiness, Emerge gives advisors a structured, ready-made curriculum that directly supports what their students need to succeed — in competition and beyond.
Emerge also integrates with Canvas, Schoology, and Google Classroom, which means advisors can deploy activities through the LMS they're already using without adding another platform to manage.
Here's how Emerge maps to some of the most popular HOSA competitive events — and why advisors trust it to give their students an edge.
Job Seeking Skills & Interviewing Skills
These events are among the most practical in the entire HOSA program. Students prepare a personal statement and resume, then sit for a mock job interview with judges. They're scored on everything from the quality of their written materials to their ability to articulate their strengths under pressure.
Emerge prepares students for these events through dedicated modules on resume building, cover letter writing, and interview preparation. Students practice crafting professional documents and get exposure to the kinds of questions and scenarios they'll face in a live interview setting. There are also activities focused on professional dress, handshake etiquette, and the kind of self-presentation that earns bonus points in competition.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Resume and Interview Prep
Job Interview Preparation
Unforgettable Resumes
How to Shake Hands in the Business World
Extemporaneous Writing
In this event, students receive a health-related prompt and must produce a well-organized written response under timed conditions. It tests their ability to think on their feet, structure an argument, and write clearly — all without preparation time.
Emerge's business writing modules build the foundational writing skills that make strong extemporaneous writers. Students practice organizing their thoughts, writing with clarity and purpose, and constructing persuasive arguments. These aren't one-off exercises — they're part of a broader curriculum that strengthens written communication across multiple contexts.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Business Writing Essentials
Professional Communication modules
Biomedical Debate
Biomedical Debate requires teams to research a health-related topic and argue both sides of the issue in front of judges. It's a test of critical thinking, research skills, public speaking, and the ability to anticipate counterarguments.
Emerge supports debate preparation through its public speaking and team communication activities. Students learn how to structure oral arguments, deliver presentations with confidence, and work collaboratively as a team — all skills that translate directly to the debate format.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Public Speaking
Team Communication Activities
Leadership Development modules
Prepared Speaking & Speaking Skills
Both events require students to develop and deliver a speech on a designated national topic. The difference is in the audience — Speaking Skills is designed for students classified under IDEA, while Prepared Speaking is open to all divisions. Both evaluate clarity, organization, delivery, and the speaker's ability to engage their audience.
Emerge's public speaking curriculum gives students repeated, low-stakes practice with oral communication before they step into the competition room. Activities cover speech structure, vocal delivery, managing nervousness, and connecting with an audience — the exact competencies judges are scoring.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Public Speaking modules
Presentation Skills activities
Dynamic Decisions
Dynamic Decisions is a team event that tests collaboration and problem-solving. Teams are presented with a scenario and must work together to analyze the situation, weigh options, and present their solution to judges — all within a tight timeframe.
Emerge's team communication and leadership activities are built for exactly this kind of challenge. Students practice group decision-making, role delegation, and presenting a unified recommendation under pressure. These activities build the kind of team chemistry that separates good teams from great ones.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Team Communication Activities
Leadership Development modules
Health Career Exploration & Health Career Display
These events ask students to research and present information about a specific health career. Health Career Exploration involves a written test and presentation, while Health Career Display requires students to create a visual display board and present their findings to judges.
Emerge supports career exploration through activities that help students investigate different professional paths, understand the skills and education required, and articulate what they've learned. Combined with Emerge's presentation and communication modules, students can build both the content knowledge and the delivery skills these events demand.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Career Exploration content
Public Speaking modules
Business Writing Essentials
Research Poster
Research Poster asks students to identify a health-related issue in their community, conduct original research, develop a poster, and present their findings to a panel of judges. It's a test of research methodology, visual communication, and oral presentation skills.
Emerge's writing and presentation modules help students learn to communicate complex information clearly — whether on paper or in front of judges. Activities focused on organizing information, writing with precision, and delivering confident presentations all feed into Research Poster preparation.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Business Writing Essentials
Public Speaking modules
Presentation Skills activities
Community Awareness
Community Awareness requires teams to identify a health-related community need and develop an awareness campaign. Teams create portfolios, produce media, and present their campaign to judges.
Emerge's team communication and leadership modules build the collaborative skills teams need to plan and execute a project like this. Public speaking and business writing activities ensure the presentation and written components meet professional standards.
Emerge activities that support this event:
Team Communication Activities
Leadership Development
Business Writing Essentials
Public Speaking modules
Why HOSA Advisors Trust Rubin Emerge
The pattern across all of these events is clear: HOSA doesn't just test what students know — it tests how well they can communicate, collaborate, and present themselves as future professionals. That's exactly what Emerge is designed to build.
Here's why advisors across the country have made Emerge part of their HOSA toolkit:
It's built for the way advisors actually work.
Emerge integrates with Canvas, Schoology, and Google Classroom — no new platform to learn, no extra logins for students. Activities are ready to assign, which means less time building materials and more time coaching students.
It covers the skills that show up everywhere.
Resume writing, interview preparation, public speaking, business etiquette, team communication, leadership development — these aren't niche topics. They're the common thread running through nearly every HOSA competitive event, and they're the same skills employers look for after graduation.
It's trusted at scale.
Emerge is used by many of the nation's largest school districts. It's not an untested resource — it's a proven curriculum that thousands of students have used to build real professional skills.
The results speak for themselves.
Former HOSA member Lota Uyanwune from California credits Emerge with helping her prepare for a scholarship interview. The result? A $40,000 scholarship to UCLA. The skills students develop through Emerge don't expire after competition season — they carry forward into college, careers, and life.
Give Your Students the Edge They Deserve
Whether your chapter is gearing up for state competition or you're looking for classroom activities that build career-ready skills year-round, Emerge gives HOSA advisors a curriculum they can count on.
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on how Rubin's Emerge curriculum supports HOSA advisors and students. Coming next: Beyond Competitions — Building Employability Skills That Last.
