"Service excellence is an inseparable component of modern healthcare. Be truthful, be factual, be kind in all communications.
Our success is not defined by us, but by our patients and their families."
- Dr Shum Cheuk Fan, Senior Consultant, Department of Surgery at Woodlands Health
Can you summarise your job in one or two sentences?
I’m a urologist who cares for patients with urinary tract conditions. I also teach future doctors and contribute to research and innovation in urology.
How long have you been in your current role?
I’ve been a urology specialist since 2015, with further training in minimally invasive urology in 2016, focusing on kidney cancer.
What inspired you to pursue a career in healthcare?
As a child, I was inspired by the values in the Hippocratic Oath—the spirit of service and humanity in being a doctor moved me deeply. Since then, I’ve worked towards a medical career, and supporting patients and their families continues to fuel my passion every day.
What’s a skill or quality you’ve developed in this role that you’re most proud of?
I have learnt to be a better communicator over the years. Modern healthcare is essentially teamwork with colleagues, with patients, and with their families, to achieve specific health goals. We need to be mindful of how we communicate, way beyond the words we speak but also our body language, our tone of voice, the timing and the ambience, and the emotional impact our messages have towards others.
Be truthful, be factual, be kind, and always allow the patients and their families to have their voices heard. This will align the vision of everyone involved towards the health goal for any individual patient.
Could you share a memorable moment from your healthcare journey?
A few weeks after WH opened in 2024, a young man came to me for a second opinion about a relapsed 4cm kidney tumour. He had persistent blood in his urine and was visibly anxious, along with his tearful wife and elderly parents. I spent time listening, reassuring them, and guiding the conversation with care. Eventually, they agreed to proceed with surgery to remove the tumour.
At a recent follow-up, he had returned to his normal life and weekly tennis. His wife, now expecting their first child, shared that they planned to name their baby ‘念恩’—which means ‘remember to thank’—in gratitude to the healthcare team. It reminded me that patients often aren’t angry at us, but at the fear and helplessness they feel. Our role is to see past that, stay calm, and do what we can to help.
What’s your personal approach to going the extra mile for patients or colleagues?
Be empathetic. Pause and think ‘what if I am him / her?’. Only then we can value-add to their clinical journeys. In my opinion, a good doctor is not someone who simply performs the most complex surgery or prescribes the strongest medicine. Rather, it is someone who listens to the patients’ needs, analyses the treatment options with them, and provide the treatment that is acceptable to them.
How do you keep yourself motivated to deliver great service every day?
I stay motivated by reminding myself how lucky I am to work with a supportive team that shares the same purpose—to help others. I’m grateful for my colleagues across all roles. Outside of work, I recharge through time with my family, my two cats, some gaming, and my weekly plate of char kway teow (sorry to my dietitian friends!).
How do you handle difficult situations while maintaining good service?
Again, this comes down to communication and empathy. Always make sure that the patients and their families feel that their voices are heard. Stay calm and do not be sucked into the negative spiral of emotional exchanges. Focus the discussion on what is affecting them the most, and be careful with the choice of words and body language.
What advice would you give to someone new to the team about service excellence?
Service excellence is an inseparable component of modern healthcare, and it goes way beyond objective measurables like cure rates, complication rates, length of hospitalization and bill sizes. We tend to focus on these measurables but forget that the process of delivering the care is even more important.
Be truthful, be factual, be kind in all communications. Curb our egos and always remember why we signed ourselves up as doctors. Our success is not defined by us, but by our patients and their families.
