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Becky Blue
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Amundeep Chaggar: Committed to health care systems change
By Nicole Versaevel, HIS Program Coordinator
Amundeep's hometown: Windsor, Ontario
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It is no surprise that Amundeep ended up in the health care field. Coming from a close knit family who work in medicine and other helping professions, it was a natural path for Amundeep to pursue nursing. She is proud to mention that her younger brother is also a nurse.
As a practicing nurse, she had the opportunity to work both in Canada and the United States. These varied experiences demonstrated for her that there are inconsistencies in patient charting, documentation, and availability of medical information to patients. This is where Amundeep’s passion for the improvement of implementation and accessibility of electronic medical records began.
Throughout the various positions that she has held, Amundeep has been exposed to several different documentation systems. She found herself increasingly frustrated by restrictive policies and the discord between best practices and patient needs. She felt that the suggestions made to patients were often not feasible to implement, particularly when working with vulnerable populations.
Amundeep credits her mom for instilling in her values about social change. As a youth, her mom would encourage her to “change what you can if you don’t like it”. This has motivated Amundeep to advocate for systems change in health care. She volunteered as a lead in COVID policy and implementation in her department and informally trained nurses in health records and precepts, in an effort to impact multiple spheres of influence. As a student, Amundeep draws from her experiences as a nurse and is able to relate to research articles that describe the complexity of working as a nurse in today’s health care environment. This fuels her passion toward system improvement and change.
Fun Fact
Amundeep is an artist whose preferred medium is acrylic painting on canvas. She also does henna for events.
Although Amundeep came into the Health Information Science program with a set idea about the focus of her research, her perspective is shifting as she has been exposed to new ideas. “I had no idea how much was out there”, she says. She describes her classmates as a tight knit group who care about the program and want to do good in the world. She enjoys the collaborative, welcoming environment in the HIS program where she is encouraged to shared ideas and feels a sense of comradery with fellow students and professors.
Amundeep takes a balanced approach toward school, using exercise as a stress management tool. Friends describe her as a kind and fun person. She is known to put her all into everything that she tackles and strives to always put forth her best effort.
What is next for Amundeep? She is hoping to seek an internship with a medical records company.
