Tamara Shenkier received her undergraduate medical degree from McGill University and her Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology Training at the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Cancer Agency. She began practicing at the BCCA Vancouver Centre in 1994, focusing on breast cancer and lymphoma. She has played an important role in postgraduate education, serving as UBC Division of Medical Oncology Program Director from 2004-2012.

She has been actively involved with Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for the past decade as a member of the Medical Oncology Exam Committee and on the Medical Oncology Specialty Committee, of which she is currently Chair-Elect. During this time she has was the Canadian representative for the ASCO/ASH Curricular Milestones and chaired a RCPSC Medical Oncology Milestones Pilot Project Subcommittee. The enthusiasm the Medical Oncology Committee demonstrated towards Competency Based Medical Education led to its selection in 2014 as one of two inaugural cohorts to implement CBME as part of the RCPSC Competency by Design project.

Her administrative responsibilities currently include co-President of the Association of BCCA Medical Oncologists. She has an active practice focusing on breast oncology, including clinical care, participation in clinical trials and clinical teaching with an emphasis on communication skills. She participated in the National Cancer Institute sponsored ONCOTALK® Teach Workshop in 2009 and continues to have a strong interest modeling and teaching the communication of serious news to trainees and physicians involved in the care of patients with cancer.