Dr. Tan Siew Pin walks not one but two miles with her young patients and their families.
A Doctor And More. CN PHOTOS: Michael Chan.
As most pediatricians do, Dr. Tan Siew Pin generally attends to kids with the “usual problems,” treating the common cold or administering vaccinations. However, that does not stop her from meeting other needs that her patients may have.
“Sometimes God prompts me to see beyond the physical need and patients would be comfortable sharing with me about their very deep problems,” she shares. “I want to be sharp in discerning whether there’s anything beyond the physical.”
Though her patients range from newborns to teenagers, Tan’s assistance does not stop at the younger ones. The owner of Olive Tree Baby & Kids Clinic tells City News about an instance when God nudged her to ask her patient’s mother about her relationship with her husband.
“The moment I asked, she broke down so I began praying for her. Ultimately, God healed their marriage and they didn’t divorce,” she says. “I was just glad to be part of the whole process that God used to save their marriage.”
Another time, Tan attended to a girl suffering from insomnia. The 52-year-old pediatrician recounts that she felt a prompting to ask the child if she had seen anything on the Internet. It turned out that the little girl came across images of vampires when she was surfing the Internet.
“The girl was afraid to tell anyone about it as she was worried that the vampires would go after her. I explained to her that vampires are ugly cartoons and after talking about her fears, she was cured of her insomnia,” says Tan.
The City Harvest Church member was also part of the church’s medical team providing relief efforts to the Haiti earthquake in 2010. From saving a Down’s Syndrome child who was dying from dehydration to providing counsel to a mother who had just given birth but had her entire family wiped away by the earthquake, the impact of Tan’s work extends beyond the shores of Singapore.
She explains, “One lesson that God taught me is that every person is so precious and we must always learn to see like Jesus because He would stop for just one.”
Tan shares that the teachings in church, especially the Cultural Mandate, have impacted her work as a doctor. “Your job is not just your job but you carry the message of Jesus in the marketplace,” she says.
The latest project for the mother of four is aimed at transforming Singapore into a pro-life society. Together with her team of doctors, Tan wants to provide pro bono advice to teenage mothers and single mothers to encourage them to keep their babies.
“Even if these pregnant ladies do not intend to keep their child, I hope to encourage them to have their babies and put them up for adoption so that there will be fewer abortion cases in Singapore,” she says.
Tan says it is the Holy Spirit who helps her to go beyond doing just her professional job. “I have learned over time that if God assigns you a job in life, no matter what He’ll see you through it. Being a pediatrician is the best fit for me and I really like my job.”
