BOHS National Honor Society of Sports Medicine (NHSSM) won their second Small Schools Division (teams with 10 or fewer participants) championship at the American Academic Competition Institute (AACI) California Regional Sports Medicine Competition March 14.
10 students (seniors Jalen Patel, Eugenie Kim, Max Luna Romo, Siwon Bae, and Micah Lee; and juniors Beckman Giang, Anthony Kim, Ella Kim, Ruby Bekerman, and Marcus Tran), accompanied by NHSSM advisor and Healthcare Pathway teacher Ken McCall, traveled to St. Francis High School in La Cañada to compete against 780 other participants. The competition included a written exam, medical abbreviations test, Quiz Bowl, and a practical exam.
NHSSM also earned fifth place in the Superteam award, which averages the top eight scores from each team.
“Knowing that these ten students are the future of healthcare and seeing their dedication to learning so many details about sports-related injury prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation is what makes advising the National Honor Society of Sports Medicine so fulfilling,” McCall said.
In the weeks leading up to the competition, NHSSM members memorized flashcards of medical terminology, took practice multiple choice tests on CPR procedures, and quizzed one another on anatomy.
The practical exam entailed five oral questions on first aid, adult CPR with AEDs, anatomy, range of motion (ROM), and taping procedure.
“They were grinding so hard for the practical exam, preparing for surface anatomy palpitations, orthopedic special tests, emergency skills, and taping techniques that I knew they were in a good position,” McCall said.
The 150-question written exam covered topics like child and infant CPR, emergency medicine, anatomy, physiology, and rehabilitation.
“The most difficult part of the competition was definitely the multiple choice portion,” Patel said. “Each question involved extremely specific information.”
In addition to the team wins, two students were recognized with individual awards.
Anthony Kim placed second in the Intermediate Division (students in their second year of sports medicine) for highest overall score — a combination of his written test results and performance in the practical examination.
“I just tried doing my best,” Kim said. “I definitely did not expect second place.”
Ella Kim won fourth place on the medical abbreviations and terminology exam.
“I felt like I wasn’t doing too well but I think I just realized that [the medical abbreviations test] is a hard test for everyone and that my practice would show through my competition,” Kim said.
Following their division and individual wins, the team will compete in the online National AACI competition in May. Until then, NHSSM continues to “build on the topics [from the regional written exam]” and “perform mock oral practicals” to prepare, according to McCall.
“I think the most rewarding part [of the competition] is being able to represent our school and to have all our hard work pay off in the end,” Tran said.
