IN THE THICK OF ACTION

Doctor by day, champion for change by night: Dr June Goh-Rin is a whirlwind of energy. This multi-hyphenate doctor, advocate and former president of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) tackles every challenge whether at work or advocating for women's issues - head-on.

- Karishma Tulsidas

Dr June Goh-Rin is gracious to a fault. When the team had to postpone this shoot, she was happy to open up her house to us three days later, despite the fact that she would be flying out to India in six hours for an extended family holiday.

I thank her when we meet, adding that few people would be this accommodating. She looks embarrassed and says that she's just chinchai, using the colloquial slang meaning "anything goes" to explain her "just-soldier-on" attitude in life.

It's a trait that has held her in good stead, especially as she juggles numerous roles as an anaesthesiologist, mother, wife, philanthropist, advocate, and patron of the arts, all while being a fixture on Singapore's social scene, a mainstay on many of the city's best dressed lists, and an avid traveller.

"Sleep deprivation," she answers with a big guffaw, when asked how she juggles all these responsibilities. As a senior consultant at the Singapore General Hospital and adjunct assistant professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical school, Dr Goh-Rin's days can be slightly unpredictable. The former director of Neuroanaesthesia and Neurocritical Care starts her day at 8am, and it can end as early as 3pm, or as late as 6am the next day if she's called into a complicated surgery.

However, the unpredictable hours are something that Dr Goh-Rin, who is in her 50s, takes in her stride, especially as becoming a doctor was a calling. She made the decision at the age of five, when she had to go to the hospital after being stung by a scorpion hiding in a towel.