
Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Tan Tock Seng Hospital MBBS (NUS, Singapore) 1996, M Med (Psych) (NUS, Singapore) 2002, MRCP (UK) (RCP, United Kingdom) 2005
“As a psychiatrist, I serve in a specialty whose mantra is “biopsychosocial”, or holistic, care. Nevertheless, the SARS experience in 2003 while I was a young registrar at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) brought home the fact that there can be no mental health without physical health – something that is constantly reinforced in my work with the Department of Geriatric Medicine here at TTSH to improve the care of elderly patients with dementia.
As an ex-Head of Department, I understand the need for collaboration at intra- and inter department levels – but at the same time, have keenly experienced the tension and frustration that being both leader and follower can bring. Indeed, it was my experience from having to deal with clinical and organizational dilemmas that motivated my interest in philosophy, with a special emphasis on virtue ethics. It is my hope that through this course, which pairs insights from diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, philosophy and organizational development together with common patient-care and organizational issues, I am able to widen the perspectives and inspire the next generation of clinicians.”