​Ensuring the Enduring Legacy of Care for the Benjamin Henry Sheares Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology by Prof Tan Kok Hian 

"On the shoulders of luminaries who transformed healthcare, let us strive to impact lives for generations to come. Through research, education, and compassionate care, we can build a legacy that empowers future generations for a healthier, brighter tomorrow."

With almost four decades spent in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, Professor Tan Kok Hian, Senior Consultant in Maternal Fetal Medicine, has devoted his career to advancing the care and treatment outcomes for mothers and babies, particularly in high-risk pregnancies.

His notable career achievements in his specialist field of Maternal Fetal Medicine, include the implementation of universal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening in Singapore, the establishment of a rapid response system at KKH to enable timely mobilisation for emergency caesarean deliveries, and the development of multiple national guidelines to standardise and elevate the quality of perinatal care.

Combining clinical, research and academia to improve health outcomes

While Prof Tan sees his primary role as a doctor dedicated to the treatment of his patients, he is also very much involved in academia as a professor at Duke-NUS, and in various academic and research projects ranging from high-risk obstetrics to metabolic health in pregnancy to patient safety.

Rather than treating his academic and research roles as distractions, he sees them as synergistic paths towards improving patient care.

He explains: "Direct patient interactions highlight real-world issues and generate important research questions. Investigations into these questions then lead to evidence-based findings that refine clinical guidelines, enhance protocols, and inspire innovations in healthcare delivery. Finally, academia enables me to disseminate best practices to the next generation of clinicians and researchers, who in turn, contribute fresh perspectives and new research directions."

Today, Professor Tan's multifaceted approach to healthcare is reflected in his diverse initiatives, including the use of wearable technologies to enhance the clinical management of pregnancy-related conditions such as gestational diabetes, the development of research-based guidelines to improve maternal and child health outcomes, and the application of epidemiological data to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality.

Diverse yet complementary, these pursuits are an apt reflection of Prof Tan's desire for converging clinical, academia, and research to "create safer, more precise, and personalised maternal care pathways".

Continuing the legacy of Benjamin Sheares, and paving the way for future generations

For his efforts in pushing for better health outcomes of mothers and children in Singapore, Prof Tan was awarded the very first Benjamin Sheares Professorship in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (OBGYN). This professorship comes under the umbrella of Duke-NUS's Distinguished Professorship programme, which represents the highest honour that a faculty member can receive for their contribution to academic medicine and research.

Sharing his thoughts about receiving the prestigious award, named after Singapore's father of OBGYN:

"The legacy of Professor Benjamin Henry Sheares in Singapore has profoundly influenced me. I'm honoured to hold a professorship that is inspired by his pioneering work on safer C-sections and pre-eclampsia management. I'm committed to carrying forward this legacy by advancing research in areas such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, both of which have a major impact on maternal and fetal health."

Even as Prof Tan looks forward to taking obstetric and perinatal care in Singapore to the next level, he is also mindful of the need to groom the next generation of specialists.

Accordingly, in his capacity as an educator to students and a mentor to junior clinicians, he often encourages them to be open to new ideas and continually reinvent themselves to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

"In today's world, you need to be both creative and resilient, ready to innovate while maintaining a commitment to lifelong learning."