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Assoc Prof Tan Nigel Choon Kiat

Assoc Prof Tan Nigel Choon Kiat

​MBBS, FAMS, FRCP (Edinburgh), MHPEd

Senior Consultant

National Neuroscience Institute

Specialty: Neurology

Clinical Interest: Epilepsy, General Neurology

Conditions Treated by this Doctor:
Epilepsy.

Clinical Appointments

  • Senior Consultant Department of Neurology National Neuroscience InstituteNational Neuroscience Institute
  • Visiting Consultant Changi General HospitalChangi General Hospital
  • Senior Consultant NNI @CGH Changi General HospitalChangi General Hospital

Academic Appointments

  • Vice-Chair (Education) SingHealth Duke-NUS Neuroscience Academic Clinical Programme

Profile

​Dr Nigel Tan is currently a Senior Consultant with the Department of Neurology at the National Neuroscience Institute. Dr Tan received his MBBS from the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Medicine, in 1993. His basic training in Internal Medicine was done in Singapore, and his advanced training in Neurology at NNI-TTSH. His fellowship training in epilepsy was with Prof Samuel Berkovic in Melbourne, Australia. In the clinical arena, Dr Tan is a neurologist with an interest in epilepsy.

In the area of health professions education, Dr Tan is currently the Education Director, NNI, and Vice Chair (Education) of the Neuroscience Academic Clinical Program, overseeing health professions education within NNI. He graduated with a Masters in Health Professions Education (MHPEd) from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in 2013. He is currently the Assistant Dean for Year 3 at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

He is also a Clinical Assoc Professor with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM) and Adjunct Assoc Professor Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. He is currently the Internal Medicine Residency Site Director for NNI for the NHG-AHPL Internal Medicine Residency and is a member of the core faculty.  Dr Tan is a member of the SingHealth Graduate Medical Education Committee, as well as the SingHealth Education Council. At the national level, he also serves on the Neurology Residency Advisory Committee as the Chair of the Exam Committee. He assists MOH as a member of the National PGY1 Training & Assessment Committee. Internationally , Dr Tan is a member of the Genetics Commission, the Pharmacogenetics Task Force and the Education Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy

Dr Tan is directly involved in education planning, teaching and assessment of medical students from all 3 medical schools - YLLSOM, LKCSOM and Duke-NUS, as well as residents and senior residents from Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology residencies.  In his capacity as Asst Dean for Year 3 at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, he is responsible for Year 3, overseeing clinical training and assessment for that year.  As core faculty for postgraduate medical education, he is involved in planning pedagogy, and doing teaching, assessment and selection of residents.

Outside NNI, Dr Tan has been involved as facilitator in the Asia Pacific Evidence-Based Medicine Conference and Teaching Course since 2006. He also teaches clinical epileptology and is an examiner for the EEG Qualifying Examinations as part of the faculty of the Asian Epilepsy Academy. In medical education, he is involved in faculty development for fellow educators via the Harvard-Macy ‘Essentials’ Program for Clinician-Educators and Health Professional Educators, as well as via the Academic Medicine Education Institute (AMEI) workshops.
 
Dr Tan’s research interests cover both neurology and education. His current neurology research interests include clinical epileptology, genetics of common epilepsies and complex traits, with publications in Neurology, Epilepsia, Seizure and Epileptic Disorders. In education, his research focuses on the use of team-based learning for neurology, assessing clinical reasoning, and the use of test-enhanced learning.

Dr Tan, with Dr Kevin Tan, runs the Neurology Education Research Division of NNI Neurology. This research group has received a medical education research award from Duke-NUS, and two  awards for their education research at the Asia-Pacific Medical Education Conference. The group has also published neurology education research in Medical Education, BMC Medical Education, and European Journal of Neurology, and frequently collaborates with fellow educators both in Singapore and overseas.

Education

  • MHPEd, 2013
  • FRCP (Edinburgh), 2008
  • FAMS, 2004
  • MBBS National University of Singapore, 1993

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

  • Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute
  • Visiting Consultant, Department of Medicine, Changi General Hospital
  • Vice-Chair (Education), Neuroscience Academic Clinical Program, National Neuroscience Institute
  • Deputy Group Director, Education (Undergraduate), SingHealth
  • Assistant Dean, Year 3, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
  • NHG Internal Medicine Education Committee (IMEC), 2010 - Present
  • SingHealth Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), 2012 - Present
  • SingHealth College of Clinical Medicine Council, 2017 - Present
  • MOH Training and Standards Assessment Committee (TASC) for PGY1s, 2014 - Present
  • Neurology Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) & Exam Chair, 2012 - Present
  • Committee member, Chapter of Clinician-Educators, Academy of Medicine, 2013 - Present
  • Singapore Medical Association – Council Member, 2014 - Present
  • SingHealth “Tomorrow’s Medicine” Clinician Advisory Panel, 2014 - Present
  • Member, Genetics Commission, International League Against Epilepsy, 2009 - Present
  • Member, Pharmacogenetics Task Force, International League Against Epilepsy, 2010 - Present
  • Member, Epilepsy Education Task Force, International League Against Epilepsy, 2014 - Present

Awards

  • National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award, 2023
  • National Neurosciece Institute, Service Quality Award – Gold, 2017
  • Singapore Health Quality Service Award – Silver, 2016
  • SingHealth RiSE awards – Outstanding Faculty Award, 2015
  • SingHealth GCEO Excellence Awards – Outstanding Educator Award, 2015
  • NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Outstanding Tutor Award, 2014
  • SingHealth GCEO Excellence Awards – Outstanding Educator Award (Special Mention), 2013
  • NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Appreciation Award, 2013
  • Long Service Award (5-10 years) for teaching & facilitation, Asia-Pacific, 2013
  • Duke-NUS Outstanding Medical Education Research Paper Award, 2012
  • SingHealth Golden Apple Education Award for Programme Innovation, 2011
  • Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, NUS 2007/8, 2009
  • NMRC Clinical Research Fellowship, 2004
  • Service Champion Award, National Neuroscience Institute, 2002
  • Best Free Paper, 7th ASM, Chapter of Public Health and Occupational Physicians, 2002
  • Best Teacher Award, Neuroscience Division, TTSH/NNI, 2000
  • Academy of Medicine Singapore
  • Evidence-Based Medicine & Nursing Conference

Research Interests

Publications

  • Ng TP, Tan NCK, Waisaicheong GKL. A prevalence study of dysmenorrhoea in female residents aged 15-54 years in Clementi Town, Singapore. Ann Acad Med Singapore 1992; 21(3):323-7
  • Tan NCK, Lee KH, Liu TC. Myelodysplastic syndrome with monosomy 7 and pulmonary aspergillosis. Singapore Med J 2000; 41(6):290-1
  • Tan NCK, Venketasubramanian N, Saw SM, Tjia HTL. Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia and risk of ischaemic stroke in young Asian adults. Stroke 2002;33(8):1956-62
  • Tan NCK, Tan AKY, Sitoh YY, Loh KC, Leow MKS, Tjia HTL. Paroxysmal Exercise-Induced Dystonia associated with hypoglycaemia induced by an insulinoma. J Neurol 2002;249(11):1615-6
  • Tan NCK, Tan DYL, Tan LCS. An Unusual Headache: Lemierre’s Syndrome. J Neurol 2003;250:245-6
  • Tan NCK, Zhou Y, Tan ASC, Chong SS, Lee WL. Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 with Focal Epilepsy - An Unusual Association. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2004; 33(1):103-5
  • Yong VK, Umapathi T, Aung T, Tan NCK, Lee JJ, Liew GC, Yip CC, Foster PJ, Chew PT. Systemic autonomic function in subjects with primary angle-closure glaucoma: a comparative study of symptomatic and asymptomatic disease presentation. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2004;32(2):137-41
  • Tan NCK, Heron SE, Scheffer IE, Pelekanos JT, McMahon JM, Vears DF, Mulley JC, Berkovic SF. Failure to confirm association of a polymorphism in ABCB1 with multidrug-resistant epilepsy. Neurology 2004;63(6):1090-2
  • Tan NCK, Mulley JC, Berkovic SF. Genetic association studies in epilepsy: “The truth is out there”. Epilepsia 2004; 45(11):1429-42
  • Tan NCK, Heron SE, Scheffer IE, Berkovic SF, Mulley JC. Is variation in the GABA(B) receptor 1 gene associated with temporal lobe epilepsy? Epilepsia 2005;46(5):778-80
  • Umapathi T, Tan WL, Tan NCK, Chan YH. Determinants of epidermal nerve fiber density in normal individuals. Muscle Nerve 2006; 33:742-6
  • Tan NCK, Mulley JC, Scheffer IE. Genetic dissection of the common epilepsies. Curr Opin Neurol 2006; 19:157-63
  • Parmar H, Lim SH, Tan NCK, Lim CC. Acute symptomatic seizures and hippocampus damage: DWI and MRS findings. Neurology 2006; 66:1732-5
  • Tan NCK, Berkovic SF. Predicting drug resistance in epilepsy: not as easy as ABC. Lancet Neurol 2006;5:640-2
  • Tan NCK, Tan K. “Who wants to be a neurologist?”: an undergraduate quiz. Med Educ 2008;42(5):522
  • Nagaendran K, Tan K, Pan ABS, Au WL, Venketasubramanian N, Lim TCC, Tan NCK. Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease: which diffusion-weighted imaging abnormality is associated with periodic EEG complexes? J Neurol 2008;255(9):1411-4
  • Tan LC, Ng KK, Au WL, Lee RK, Chan YH, Tan NCK. Bromocriptine use and the risk of valvular heart disease. Mov Disord 2009;24(3):344-9
  • Tan NCK, Berkovic SF. The Epilepsy Genetic Association Database (epiGAD): Analysis of 165 genetic association studies, 1996-2008. Epilepsia 2010; 51(4):686-9
  • Tan LC, Ng KK, Au WL, Lee RK, Tan NCK. Bromocriptine Use and Myocardial Function.  Mov Disord 2011;26(5):923-4
  • Johnson MR, Tan NCK, Kwan P, Brodie MJ. Newly diagnosed epilepsy and pharmacogenomics research: A step in the right direction? Epilepsy Behav 2011;22(1):3-8
  • Tan NCK, Kandiah N, Chan YH, Umapathi T, Lee SH, Tan K. A controlled study of team-based learning for undergraduate clinical neurology education. BMC Med Educ 2011;11(1):91
  • Tan NCK. Genetics of large populations in epilepsy: Association studies – Trials and tribulations. Neurology Asia 2011; 16 (S1):9-10
  • Phua DH, Tan NCK. Cognitive aspects of diagnostic errors. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2013; 42:33-41
  • Tan NCK, Lim SH. Epilepsy: Looking beyond seizures. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2013;42:108-9
  • Hirose S, Scheffer IE, Marini C, De Jonghe P, Andermann E, Goldman AM, Kauffman M, Tan NCK, Lowenstein DH, Sisodiya SM, Ottman R, Berkovic SF for the Genetics Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy.  SCN1A Testing for Epilepsy: Application in clinical practice. Epilepsia 2013; 54:946-52
  • Tan NCK, Tan K. Educational Interventions In Neurology: A Comprehensive Systematic Review – Letter To The Editor. Eur J Neurol 2013; 20: e122
  • Tu TM, Loh NK, Tan NCK. Clinical Risk Factors for Non-Convulsive Status Epilepticus During Emergent Electroencephalogram. Seizure 2013; 22:794-7
  • Kam KQ, Tan GSE, Tan K, Lim ECH, Koh NY, Tan NCK. Neurophobia In Medical Students And Junior Doctors In Singapore – Blame The GIK. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2013;42:559-66
  • Tan YL, Tan K, Tan NCK. Antiepileptic treatment for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: the need for video-EEG monitoring – Letter to the Editor. Epileptic Disorders 2013;15(4):468
  • Yip TSC, O’Doherty C, Tan NCK, Dibbens LM, Suppiah V. SCN1A variations and response to multiple antiepileptic drugs. Pharmacogenomics J 2014;14(4):385-9.
  • Tan K, Tan NCK, Kandiah N, Samarasekera D, Ponnamperuma G. Validating a Script Concordance Test for assessing Neurological Localization and Emergencies. Eur J Neurol 2014;21(11):1419-22
  • Ng PS, Lim CC, Tan NC. Acute hyperammonaemic encephalopathy. Oxford Medical Case Reports 2014 (4): 69-70
  • Lin XL, Yu WY, Priego G, Tan NCK. Nodular Nerves and Lumpy Leptomeninges – Neuroimaging in Primary Leptomeningeal Lymphoma. Neurology Asia 2014; 19:421-3
  • Ong CCP, Tan NCK. Unprofessional Doctors—Are They Really Born This Way? Ann Acad Med Singapore 2014; 43(11):521-3.  Authors’ Reply: Ann Acad Med Singapore 2015; 44(1):33
  • Tan NCK, Lowenstein DH, ILAE Genetics Commission. Improving your genetic literacy in epilepsy – A new series. Epilepsia 2015;56:1696-9
  • Xu C, Yogaratnam J, Tan N, Sim K. Psychosis, Treatment Emergent Extrapyramidal Events, and Subsequent Onset of Huntington's Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2016;14(3):302-4
  • Ong SY, Tan NCK, Knab M, Farrell SE, Lim WS. Attitudes of clinician educators towards interprofessional education and collaboration: Insights from two interprofessional scales. J Interprof Care 2017;9:1-5
  • Tan K, Chin HX, Yau CWL, Lim ECH, Samarasekera D,  Ponnamperuma G, Tan NCK. Evaluating a bedside tool for neuroanatomical localization with extended-matching questions. Anat Sci Edu 2017 [in press]
  • Helbig I, Heinzen EL, Mefford HC, ILAE Genetics Commission. Primer Part 1-The building blocks of epilepsy genetics. Epilepsia 2016;57:861-8
  • Tan NCK, Uy E. Evaluation of articles on prognosis. In Painless Evidence-based Medicine, 2nd edition, ed. Dans AL, Dans LF, Silvestre MAA. (2017)

Research Trials