School of Nursing hosting diversity summit

Registration now under way for Nov. 7 discussions on multiculturalism’s role in health care excellence

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 23, 2012) — The School of Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the Texas Diversity Council are hosting the 2012 Greater San Antonio Healthcare Diversity Summit on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the nursing school’s auditorium.

The summit, with a theme of “Diversity and Cultural Competence in Healthcare,” will feature speakers and panelists who represent diverse ethnicities, backgrounds and experiences. The event begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 12:20 p.m. Nov. 7.

Norma Martinez Rogers, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, professor in the School of Nursing at the Health Science Center and summit organizer, said the summit “is an opportunity for us to show our commitment to ensuring cultural competence is integrated into health care.

“The diversity summit provides us time to show the importance of understanding diversity and the need to teach others its relevance to health care,” said Dr. Rogers, director of Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) and Juntos Avanzamos (Together We Advance). Juntos Podemos is a mentoring program for current nursing students while Juntos Avanzamos is a recruiting and mentoring program for future nursing students.

The summit will begin with featured speaker Harry R. Gibbs, M.D., chief diversity officer for the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Gibbs will discuss “How to Speak Multicultural.” His presentation will review biological, psychological and practical aspects of effective communication. Dr. Gibbs will offer suggestions for more impactful cross-cultural interactions.

The first panel discussion, titled “Inclusion and Cultural Competence at the Heart of Healthcare Excellence,” will be moderated by Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor in the School of Nursing. Panelists are Janie Canty-Mitchell, Ph.D., R.N., chair of the Department of Family and Community Health Systems in the School of Nursing; Rodolfo Urby, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., chief executive officer and medical director of the Southwest Texas Network; Pilar Oates, executive director of Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., and Karine Crow, Cherokee, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor in the School of Nursing.

The second panel discussion is on “Perceptions of Diversity in Healthcare Education.” Moderator will be Theresa Villarreal, R.N., M.S.N., ACNS-BC, clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing. The panel will consist of graduate and undergraduate nursing students.

Closing remarks will be given by Angeles Valenciano, vice president of business development for the Texas Diversity Council.

The cost to attend the diversity summit is $40. Online registration is available at www.texasdiversitycouncil.org/healthcarecou/event-hdc-sanantonio.php The summit is being sponsored by AmegyBank of Texas and H-E-B.
 

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $231 million in fiscal year 2011. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 28,000 graduates. The $736 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.



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