About Dr Natalie Collis

Hi, I am Dr Natalie.

I have dreamt of being a doctor since the age of 10 and I feel so privileged to have found my calling. I graduated from the University of the Free State in 2016 and then went on to complete my internship in Nelspruit at Rob Ferreira Hospital.

I am passionate about wildlife and nature and spent most of my spare time travelling rural Mpumalanga or in the Kruger National Park. I was placed at Ermelo Provincial Hospital in 2019 for my medical community service year. I had never heard of Ermelo before receiving my placement and was initially so upset that I had been placed in a town that I had not chosen. Little did I know the community would creep into my heart and I would build my life here. It was during my community service year when I met my now fiancé and he convinced me to make Ermelo my home.

I joined a GP practice and started working in private practice at the beginning of 2020, just before the COVID pandemic.

As for many people all around the world, 2020 was one of the most difficult years of my life.
Initially I was in denial; COVID 19 seemed like something that would not reach out little town.

But I eventually had to face reality and start to prepare for the inevitable. I worked closely with Ermelo MediClinic; assisting them in drawing up a disaster protocol and setting up a COVID 19 ward. We had no idea what to expect.

When the first wave hit Ermelo, I started to notice that there was a huge limitation in the availability of healthcare for COVID 19 positive patients. Patients who were sick enough were admitted to hospital, but still required follow up after discharge. COVID positive patients who were not sick enough to present to the emergency department or where too scared to do so, needed to be seen by a doctor but they had
no where to go.

It was in this time that I, along with Anel Schoeman (physiotherapist) and Elsje Van Der Schyff
(Physiotherapist) decided to start an outpatient clinic for COVID positive patients or patients with
COVID-like symptoms. Our goal was to create a safe space to examine and treat patients without the
stigma and fear that accompanied the diagnosis.

This time in my career and life was one of the most heartbreaking and terrifying times, but also one of
the most rewarding and gratifying experiences. I learnt so much as a doctor and as a person and I am
grateful for that. So many patients had such a huge impact on my heart and my life, and this made me
fall in love with Family Medicine.

At the beginning of 2022 I decided to go on adventure to work on a cruise ship in the Caribbean before
settling down to start a family. It has been both wonderful and incredibly difficult, and I have missed my
family and my patients enormously.

I have returned to Ermelo and have started my own medical practice; hoping to create another safe
space for healing. 

I am very excited for what lies ahead and am looking forward to walking a journey
with each of my patients.