We are extremely privileged and grateful to have Dr Shani Tan as our Medical Advisor. Dr Shani Tan has very kindly volunteered to support and advise us on mountaineering related medical conditions and issues.
About Dr Shani Tan
Dr Shani Tan is a Specialist Anaesthetist at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in BC, Canada. She is also a trained Paediatric Anaesthetist. She has 30 years of Anaesthesia experience including 10 years of Paediatric Anaesthesia in Children’s Hospitals in Singapore and New Zealand. She was President of the Asian Society of Paediatric Anaesthesiologists from 2003-2005.
Dr Shani Tan has been involved in teaching for 20 years and has been on the faculty of the National University of Singapore and more recently University of British Columbia.
However, her real interest lies in the outdoors and being in the mountains. She is actively involved in the outdoors, a keen rock climber, alpine and nordic skier and mountaineer.
Dr Shani Tan was one of the founder members of the Mountaineering Society of Singapore (MOSS) and the 1st female President of MOSS. She is currently a member of the Wilderness Medical Society, the International Society for Mountain Medicine and a Fellow of Academy of Wilderness Medicine. She is also a member of the South Columbia Search and Rescue, Rope Rescue Technician and member of the medical team, all on a voluntary basis.
Dr Shani Tan has been climbing and trekking for over 20 years and has a long climbing resume, which includes summits of Aconcagua, Elbrus and Mont Blanc and was foiled by a broken crampon on Denali. Loved Kilimanjaro so much she went not once but twice!
Loving to sleep on a glacier led her to be the official base-camp doctor for the 1st Singapore Everest Expedition in 1998. In August 2005, she was a member of an all-Singaporean team to climb virgin peaks in Kazakhstan, one of which was subsequently named Ong Teng Cheong Peak.
In August 2007, together with long time expedition accomplice David Lim, Dr Shani Tan made the 4th ever unsupported trek across the World’s Largest Salt Desert, the Salar de Uyuni.
Dr Shani Tan founded Wilderness First Aid Singapore in 2000. After witnessing a horrific accident at a local crag, she started with distributing simple 1st aid leaflets. This low key “teaching” grew to a full fledged 2 day certification course endorsed by the Singapore Mountaineering Federation. She has taught over 1000 participants skills in outdoor first aid and instructed numerous expeditions on aspects of high altitude medicine and trek preparation.
Dr Shani Tan has completed the ISMM Diploma in Mountain Medicine through the University of Utah.
Since being outdoors makes for a healthy appetite, Shani can whip up pretty darn good food, artisanal bread and the odd cup of real coffee. She also co-writes a food and travel blog.