He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1998, embarked on specialty training in Hand Surgery in 2005 and received his accreditation in Hand Surgery in 2008. Following three years of institutional practice at the National University Hospital (NUH) of Singapore in the Department of Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery (HRM), he went on a one-year ACGME accredited fellowship in Hand Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York from 2011-2012. Upon returning from fellowship, he took on the reins of Program Director for the Hand Surgery Residency Program before relinquishing the position in early 2020.

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Dr. Tan is currently a Senior Consultant Hand Surgeon at Orthopaedic and Hand Surgery Partners –a private group practice located at Gleneagles Hospital. He is also a Visiting Consultant with the HRM Department, National University Hospital, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Changi General Hospital and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the National University of Singapore. In addition, he is an accredited Hand Surgeon at the multiple private hospitals that include Mt. Elizabeth Hospital, Mt Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Parkway East Hospital, Farrer Park Hospital, Mt Alvernia Hospital, Raffles Hospital, and StarMed Specialist Centre.

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Owing to his decade long experience at NUH, Dr. Tan is confident in managing a wide range of disorders encompassed within the breadth of hand surgery, including microsurgery, peripheral nerve surgery and traumatic hand and wrist disorders. His sub-specialty interests are in wrist disorders, forearm axis disorders and elbow disorders and he is one of few hand surgeons to be accredited to treat elbow disorders both in restructured hospitals and private hospitals. He has incorporated arthroscopy widely into his practice in the management of wrist problems since developing his interest in that field early in his career and has performed more than 300 wrist arthroscopic interventions to date.

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Dr. Tan is a firm advocate of the necessity of continued education in medicine and particular to his situation, Hand Surgery. This is embodied not just by his steady mentoring of training surgeons during his stint as Program Director whilst at NUH, but through the numerous courses that he has organized as well as participated in as faculty member over the years. He is the immediate Past President of the Singapore Society for Hand Surgery (2017-2019). He has been a constant faculty member of the annually held Singapore Wrist Arthroscopy Course since its first iteration in 2016. He has been an invited speaker at many nationally and internationally organized meetings and conferences. He has also contributed to further understanding and knowledge in Hand Surgery through scientific publications and book chapters as well as through media publications.