High School Student Resources

Career planning resources

Occupational Outlook Handbook – The United States Department of Labor provides a detailed Occupational Outlook Handbook which outlines specific health careers, health statistics, education requirements, and median pay rates.

Teen Education and Careers in Healthcare – The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) provides resources for teachers to educate students about career opportunities in health care. The AMSA provides lesson plans, presentations, project ideas for activities, and a sample teaching script.

Health Occupations for Today and Tomorrow (HOTT) – The HOTT project was implemented to address the critical need for healthcare workers across the state. The South Dakota Office of Rural Health works to improve access to health services by hosting the HOTT website. The website features career planning, job shadowing, and much more.

Scrubs Camp – Scrubs Camps are one day, hands-on opportunities for high school students. Scrubs Camps are designed to increase awareness, interest, and understanding of health careers available in South Dakota through creative and interactive activities. The Scrubs website provides information about upcoming camps, registration information, and information about healthcare careers.

USD Sanford School of Medicine Healthcare Careers Camp – This camp is a 5 day camp located at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD. The camp is open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, and provides hands-on experiences while interacting with healthcare professionals.

O*NET OnLine – This site allows detailed searches for specific health careers, and provides information about careers, from average pay to skill requirements and educational needs prior to employment. Use the keyword search function to search for a specific health career (e.g. certified nursing assistant) or use the industry search feature to search all careers in health sciences. (Link)

Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) – The South Dakota HOSA was established in 2012 as an initiative of the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and the South Dakota Area Health Education Center in response to the great need for future health professionals in our state. The structure of HOSA provides a comprehensive, rigorous and relevant program to engage students interested in health careers, as well as an evaluation system that has been continuously tested, refined and validated over three decades of use. HOSA’s Competitive Events Program offers members the opportunity to compete in teams or as individuals in more than 55 different events that fall along the broad spectrum of healthcare careers.

SDMyLife – SDMyLife is an online career exploration and academic program for South Dakota students and educators. We are here to help students become prepared for life after high school. SDMyLife’s goal is to help students understand how their interests, skills, and knowledge relate to real-world academic and career opportunities. SDMyLife is packed with activities, resources and information to help students in each step along the way. Visit the health sciences resources.