HAWAII UNIVERSITY SURGEONS

MD: Albany Medical College, Albany, New York

Residency: Hospital of St. Raphael's, New Haven, Conneticut

Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care: University of Hawaii Surgical Critical Care Fellowship

Areas of Specialization: General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care

Practice Site: The Queen's Medical Center

Contact Information: UCERA / Hawaii University Surgeons, phone number: 528-4144

Language Spoken:  English

Insurance Accepted: HMSA, UHA, HMAA, Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid/Quest

Interview with Dr. Tan

MC: Dr. Tan, what inspired you to become a doctor? If you weren’t a doctor, what would you be doing now?

MC: How did you become interested in your area of specialty?

MC: What do you like best about being a doctor? Please describe your most memorable moment.

MC: What is something you would like to change about the medical field?

MC: What is the mission of Hawaii University Surgeons, and what makes it different from other medical groups ?

MC: Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence.

Dr. Tan: I wanted to help people when they are in a time of crisis.

If I wasn’t a doctor I would be a chef. I like cutting and creating something from nothing. Cooking takes a lot of imagination. It also requires working as a team. I cook a lot of different things, including various fish dishes. I would like to do an “Iron Chef” cook-off with the Chair of the Department of Surgery, Danny Takanishi, who also enjoys cooking. I could be Iron Chef Malaysia.

Dr. Tan: I had taken care of my friend’s wife when she was in the ICU. It was a very dramatic situation where it seemed she was not going to make it. This got me interested in critical care.

As for trauma, I have the opportunity to get very, very ill people back to normal health. I have the opportunity to enact change at the patient level. I am also interested in trauma prevention, particularly with teens and drunk driving. I would like to start a program where we could do talks at high schools to present the dangers of drunk driving and the consequences.

Regarding general surgery, we take what you would consider “normal people” and in a sense make them “sick” and then make them normal again.

Dr. Tan: Making sick people get better. Every day is a challenge; requiring quick thinking, rapid decisions. My most memorable moment goes back to taking care of my friend’s wife in the ICU. She had complications after giving birth. After she survived the life-threatening ordeal, I had been told by someone that I not only saved a life, but a family.

Dr. Tan: The entire process needs to be simplified, starting with admitting patients to use of electronic medical records where everyone would be able to access a complete set of records for each patient. Basic healthcare should be available to everyone.

Dr. Tan.: Our mission is to provide the best level of care to the people of Hawaii while developing the next generation of physicians. We differ from other medical groups with our commitment to charitable care with the work we do in trauma.

Dr. Tan: “Life is short, so you might as well live it.”