DR TAN CHI CHIU
Doctor's Profile
- Specialist in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy.
- Trained in Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital Singapore and in the United Kingdom at the teaching hospitals University Hospital Nottingham and Derby City General Hospital – now Royal Derby Hospital.
- Pro-bono professional contributions as elected member of the Singapore Medical Council, Chairman of SMC’s Medical Ethics Committee and in Board Committees of Hospitals.
- Contributions to the global community through international youth development programmes community aid projects and humanitarian disaster relief missions.
- Contributions to the local community through Board leadership positions in non-profit organisations and as Chairman of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation in SMU.
- Interests beyond medicine include management training (Harvard Business School Advanced Management Programme) and Executive and Organisational Coaching, as a qualified Coach with Columbia University Certification.
- Would love to chat with patients about many countries, travel and photography, scuba diving, skiing, cooking, food and wine appreciation.
Educational and Training Background
Dr Tan Chi Chiu studied at the Anglo Chinese School and Junior College, and then graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1983 with Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery, with a distinction in Pathology. He pursued specialist training in Internal Medicine and obtained his Memberships of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine, in 1988. He specialised in Gastroenterology and was accorded the Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine in Gastroenterology in 1993 and recognised by the Ministry of Health as a specialist in Gastroenterology. He was further conferred the Fellowships of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh and London in 1996 and 1998 respectively.
Dr Tan trained in the Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital in Singapore. He spent two years in the United Kingdom (affiliated to the teaching hospitals University Hospital Nottingham and Derby City General Hospital – now the Royal Derby Hospital) as an advanced specialist trainee in therapeutic endoscopy and laser endoscopy. He was also attached to the Endoscopy Department of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam for enhanced exposure to techniques of therapeutic Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP).
Professional Appointments and Memberships
Dr Tan was appointed Consultant in Gastroenterology and Medicine in the Department of General Medicine of Tan Tock Seng Hospital in 1995, where he went on to found and head the Gastroenterology Unit. He was also Chairman of the Endoscopy Committee of the hospital. Dr Tan has conducted original research in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and published many articles in peer reviewed medical journals. He is now a Gastroenterologist and senior consultant of the practice in Gastroenterology & Medicine International in Gleneagles Medical Centre.
Dr Tan has been an elected member of the Singapore Medical Council for 18 years from 1999 to 2017, where he has been the Chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee, Chairman of the Working Committee for the review of the Ethical Code and Guidelines, Chairman of the Registration Review Committee and Chairman of Complaints Committees. He has been Chairman of the Endoscopy Committee and Member of the Medical Advisory Board of Gleneagles Hospital. He is a member of the British Gastroenterological Society, Gastroenterological Society of Singapore and the Singapore Medical Association.
Contributions to the Local Community
Dr Tan has been deeply involved in the medical and community service scene in Singapore. He serves in a voluntary capacity in many non-profit organisations. He has been a Board Member and is now Chairman of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at the Singapore Management University (where he has also been the Chief Editor of Social Space, the Centre’s journal), he has been Board Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Medical Committee of Sata CommHealth, Board Member of the National Youth Achievement Awards Council and past Vice Chairman of Make-A-Wish Foundation Singapore. He is a life member of the Singapore Red Cross Society. He is a Fellow and member of the Senior Common Room Committee of King Edward VII Hall, National University of Singapore. He was formerly Chairman of Raleigh International Singapore – a youth development organisation, Chairman of the Singapore Adventure Leader Council, Board Member of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Executive Committee Member of the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation and Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Anglo Chinese School.
Humanitarian Disaster Relief Work
Dr Tan has been involved in humanitarian disaster relief work since 1990, with the Singapore Armed Forces, then with the Singapore International Foundation, working in collaboration with other humanitarian organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross and Mercy Relief Singapore. In January 2005, Dr Tan organised and led a medical humanitarian relief team from Parkway Group Healthcare to Sri Lanka to help survivors of the Asian tsunami disaster. In October 2005 he led another Parkway medical relief team to the Pakistani earthquake disaster. In June 2006, he led a third Parkway medical relief team to the Central Java earthquake at Yogyakarta. He has been awarded the Minister for Health Awards for the Tsunami and Central Java missions. In 2010, he led a Parkway Health medical relief team to the Haiti earthquake disaster. In 2013 he led a private medical relief team to East Samar in Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan and in 2015 he helped to lead a Singapore Red Cross medical team to Nepal following a devastating earthquake. To date, Dr Tan has participated in 15 humanitarian medical missions in 12 of which he was the leader or medical director.
Dr Tan believes that Singapore can do more and should benchmark itself against Japan and South Korea. He would like to see the creation of a national network and resource of medical volunteers, which could then support the relief missions of all organisations that need medical teams.
Qualifications Beyond Medicine – Management Training and Executive & Organisation Coaching
Dr Tan attended the 11 week long Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School in 2003, when he was elected valedictorian amongst 160 course members from 33 countries.
Dr Tan a Certified Executive and Organisational Coach at the Professional Certified Coach level, by the Coaching Certification Program (CCCP) of Columbia University. The CCCP equips Coaches to help organizations create cultures characterized by learning, growth, high-performance and renewal, integrating leadership practices to drive organizational results. Dr Tan is also a Certified Mentor at Terrific Mentors International, working as an associate of Founder John Bittleston.
Dr Tan aims to help leaders and individuals navigate through challenges and changes so as to lead fulfilled personal and working lives, maximizing their participation in their organizations. He does this through combining his perspectives and understanding of people and organizations, with sound coaching and mentoring expertise. He has an interest in coaching skills as applicable to medical practice. His qualification dissertation was “Coaching Skills for Doctors: Improving Medical Communications for Better Patient Outcomes”.
Personal Interests
Dr Tan is an enthusiast in
- Travel – having visited or worked in about 70 countries on every continent except Antarctica
- Photography – with numerous published travel articles and photographs
- Scuba diving
- Downhill skiing
- Culinary art, wine and food appreciation
