Valdosta State University’s Department of Communication Arts will host the Symposium on Socio-Cultural Issues in Healthcare for Healthcare Practitioners from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14, in the University Center Magnolia Room. The event is free of charge and open to students and faculty in the fields of nursing, healthcare administration, sociology, and social work, as well as healthcare practitioners working in South Georgia.
 
The Symposium on Socio-Cultural Issues in Healthcare for Healthcare Professionals will explore how personal identities — age, sex, race, education, etc. — and other socio-cultural variables — power, resources, public policy, etc. — interact and impact healthcare delivery.
 
Attendees will have an opportunity to network and share their personal stories of triumphs, challenges, and failures from the healthcare field.
 
Dr. Samuel S. Mortoti, a cardiologist on the frontlines of specialized care, will serve as the keynote speaker. He will touch on a wide range of issues, including health and religion, health delivery in rural America, diversity in American healthcare, and healthcare’s socio-cultural challenges and opportunities.
 
“Dr. Mortoti’s experiences provide a unique opportunity for attendees to learn firsthand about the complex dynamics of socio-cultural issues from the caregiver’s perspective,” said Dr. Prosper Yao Tsikata, assistant professor of communication at VSU and symposium coordinator.
 
“As students ready themselves to join the caregiver vocation, it is important that they are exposed to some of the veiled aspects of socio-cultural issues that impinge on the caregiver and care-receiver dynamics in the health delivery process.”
 
Mortoti is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine, National Board of Echocardiography, and the Board of Nuclear Cardiology. He received his medical education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, where he practiced for a few years before moving to Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., for both his residency and fellowship. He is currently licensed in Arkansas and Washington, D.C., and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
 
Anyone interested in securing a spot at the Symposium on Socio-Cultural Issues in Healthcare for Healthcare Practitioners should email their name, job title, and employer/school to Dr. Prosper Yao Tsikata at [email protected]. The registration deadline for attendees outside VSU is Sept. 8. The deadline for VSU students, faculty, and practitioners is Sept. 12.