Singapore ยท Anaesthetist

Shi Hao, notes
from the margins
of practice.

I'm an anaesthetist at National University Health System (NUHS). This is where I write โ€” occasionally โ€” about the art and science of medicine, and share what I've found useful along the way.

About

A brief sketch.

Trained in Singapore. Clinical work sits at the intersection of regional anaesthesia, airway management, and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) โ€” procedures and protocols where craft and evidence both matter, and where small decisions compound into very different patient experiences.

Outside the theatre, I think about compounding โ€” in health, wealth, and relationships. Long horizons, small disciplines, ignore the noise in between.

2013 MBBS Singapore
2016 PGDip Sports Medicine
2019 MMed Anaesthesiology
Clinical interests
Regional Anaesthesia
Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks. Craft at the millimetre.
Airway Management
The skill that matters most when it matters most.
ERAS
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery โ€” protocols as compound interest for patients.
Compounding
Health, wealth, relationships. Small deposits, long horizons.
Beyond clinical
Self-Improvement
Slow, unglamorous, continuous. The only kind that works.
Personal Finance & Investing
First principles over noise. Decades, not quarters.
Coaching
Helping juniors and peers find their own edges.
Running & Training
Three to four times a week. The foundation everything else sits on.
Ethos

Three ideas I return to.

Shokunin
The craftsman's approach to work. A quiet obligation to master one's trade โ€” not for recognition, but because the work itself deserves it. Every list, every block, every airway.
Shoshin
Beginner's mind, held deliberately. Openness, curiosity, and the willingness to be wrong โ€” especially after years of expertise, when it's hardest.
Memento mori
Remember you must die. Not morbid โ€” clarifying. A useful check on what matters, what doesn't, and how to spend a finite number of days.
Writing

Notes, resources, reading.

A slow-burn collection, organised in three strands.

Notes on the art and science of medicine
Things I've had to learn the hard way โ€” at the interface of evidence, judgement, and the patient in front of you.
For juniors honing their craft in anaesthesia
Block-by-block walk-throughs, airway frameworks, and the small operational habits that separate comfortable from excellent.
Reading lists
Books that have mattered โ€” in medicine, finance, philosophy, and the long conversation between them.
Nothing published yet. This section is the scaffolding โ€” a commitment made visible. First pieces coming later this year.
Contact
Say hello.

Best reached by email. I reply when I can โ€” usually between lists, sometimes not for a few days.

dr@chewshihao.com