MBBS 2013MMed (Anaes) 2019

Shi Hao, short notes from an aspiring shokunin職人.

About

A brief sketch.

I'm an anaesthetist from Singapore. This is where I write — occasionally — about the art and science of medicine, and share what I've found useful along the way.

Through my writing, I hope to help my juniors, surgeons, and patients better understand why I do what I do.

Outside the theatre, I think about compounding — in health, wealth, and relationships. Long horizons, small disciplines. Ignore the noise in between.

Clinical interests
Ambulatory & Fast-Turnover Surgery
Speed without compromise. Processed-EEG-guided anaesthesia, opioid-sparing technique, and recovery-ready extubation — designed for safe same-day discharge.
Regional Anaesthesia
Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks placed with millimetre precision. Opioid-sparing by design — so patients wake comfortable and mobilise early.
Airway Management
The skill that matters most when it matters most. Video laryngoscopy, advanced airway adjuncts, and fibreoptic intubation deployed deliberately — not reached for in panic.
Ethos

Philosophy of practice.

My clinical practice is shaped by two Japanese ideas I return to often: shokunin 職人 — the craftsman's devotion to mastery — and shoshin 初心 — beginner's mind, held deliberately. Taken together, they describe a way of working that I find true and worth aiming at, even if I will never fully arrive.

I
The relentless pursuit of perfection.
Every list, every block, every airway is an opportunity to refine something — technique, judgement, workflow. The standard is set internally, not by what the environment tolerates. Most days the work is quiet and unremarkable. That is the point.
II
The aggregation of marginal gains.
Great anaesthesia rarely hinges on one heroic decision. It is the sum of many small ones done well — the extra care with positioning, the block placed with precision, the drug titrated to effect. Each alone is minor. Compounded across thousands of cases, they describe a career.
III
Shoshin, held steady over years of experience.
Beginner's mind is easy at the beginning. The harder version is holding it after years of competence — openness, curiosity, and the willingness to be wrong when experience makes it tempting not to be.
Writing

Notes, resources, reading.

A slow-burn collection of short posts, organised in three strands: essays on the art and science of medicine, resources for juniors honing their craft in anaesthesia, and readings from medicine, philosophy, and the long conversation between them.

Read the latest posts →
Contact
Say hello.

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

dr@chewshihao.com
Disclaimer

Views expressed here are my own and do not represent my employer or institution. Nothing on this site constitutes medical advice. Please consult a qualified clinician if you need medical attention. All content © chewshihao.com unless stated otherwise.