Championing the Destruction of Educational Silos

Congratulations to Clinical Associate Professor Kevin Tan, Education Director and Senior Consultant, Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) on receiving the National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award at the National Medical Excellence Awards (NMEA) 2026.

A/Prof Kevin Tan receiving the award from Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health & Coordinating Minister for Social Policies

One of healthcare's most overlooked problems isn't clinical, it's cultural, according to Associate Professor Kevin Tan. The medical educator and neurologist believes this problem starts before healthcare workers even qualify to practice. 

“When doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals are trained within their own professional silos, they focus on different aspects of patient care and have different priorities,” explains A/Prof Tan.” So when we put healthcare professionals together, it doesn't automatically mean that they will know how to work as a team and this can result in clashes."

In healthcare, a patient's outcome depends on how well an entire team functions, rather than just how skilled each individual is, and poor teamwork can have real consequences. A/Prof Tan set out to address this problem by championing Interprofessional Education (IPE), both at NNI and SingHealth.

“IPE is about teaching healthcare professionals how to function as a team. This includes helping them understand the perspectives of different team members, so if they disagree on a patient’s management plan, they can understand why, then work together to find a solution,” says A/Prof Tan.

From L to R: A/Prof Kevin Tan with Nurse Clinician Peng Xuejuan and Assistant Nurse Clinician Yu Chen at the clinic

Building Bridges Across Professions

As Co-Lead of the Centre for Interprofessional Healthcare Education within SingHealth Duke-NUS, he brokered a landmark partnership with the University of Toronto and built the local expertise to sustain it long after the partnership began. The interprofessional community of practice he cultivated at SingHealth has since extended its reach across healthcare clusters in Singapore and into the wider region.

"Kevin embodies the values of an educator. He has reshaped neurology education in NNI, reimagined interprofessional education across SingHealth-DukeNUS, and is now steering the future of neurology training for Singapore as a whole," Clinical Associate Professor Nigel Tan, and Group Chief Education Officer, SingHealth, Senior Consultant, Neurology, NNI.

A/Prof Kevin Tan (L) with A/Prof Nigel Tan

Demystifying Neurology, One Framework at a Time

A/Prof Tan teaches at Singapore’s three medical schools: Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS) and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (NTU). His mission is to change how neurology is taught, because in his view, the specialty’s daunting reputation isn't a student problem, it's a teaching one. "We try to demystify neurology by teaching in frameworks and simplifying the principles," he says, "so that learners walk away with genuine understanding rather than a head full of disconnected facts."

It's a philosophy he has backed with action. As the first Programme Director of NNI's Neurology Senior Residency Programme, he formalised processes, raised standards, and set a tone of scholarly meticulousness that would come to define his approach to education. This includes studying innovations in teaching and interprofessional education as rigorous fields of inquiry, leading funded education research projects and publishing healthcare professions education papers in those areas.

Crucially, he has ensured that his research findings translate directly into education and clinical practice. For example, clinical reasoning and decision-making in the uncertainties of real-world medicine are essential skills for neurologists. A/Prof Tan has developed an assessment tool (script concordance test) to assess and measure these skills in trainees. The test has also been used to determine the effectiveness of educational interventions to teach clinical reasoning.

A/Prof Kevin Tan with Lee Yoke Ling, 2^nd year medical student, Duke-NUS

A Teacher Who Genuinely Cares

The benefits of such medical education can take time to bear fruit and stretch beyond clinical knowledge.

“Education is an ongoing process. We do not see the impact of what we teach immediately, but if we train doctors and other healthcare professionals with the right values, behaviours and skills, they can provide the best care for patients,” shares A/Prof Tan.

Clinical Assistant Professor Jonathan Lai, Consultant, Neurology, is one of many neurologists who have benefited from A/Prof Tan’s clinical teaching and support. Asst Prof Lai recalls ringing him in a panic on a weekend for clinical advice, and A/Prof Tan answered without hesitation. "His mentorship feels less like guidance and more like genuine care," Asst Prof Lai reflects. "He has shown me that being an excellent clinician and teacher are not competing demands but deeply connected ones."

A/Prof Kevin Tan (left) and A/Prof Nigel Tan (right) with medical students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine after completing a Neurology elective posting at NNI

This care is also felt by A/Prof Tan’s patients, most of whom are living with complex neuroimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis or infections that affect the brain. They regularly send in compliments thanking him for his clear explanations and reassurance – often in Mandarin – such that he received the NNI Service Quality Awards 2026 Star Award earlier this year.

A/Prof Tan's recognition at the National Medical Excellence Awards 2026 is a testament not just to his individual achievements, but to a philosophy that has quietly reshaped how healthcare professionals are trained across Singapore and the region. Whether conducting teaching sessions, seeing patients in the clinic, or answering calls from colleagues who need help, his belief remains constant: that good medicine is inseparable from good teaching, and that both are, at their core, acts of care.

A/Prof Kevin Tan with members of the NNI Management team