DR. JULIE CONRADIE

I was born in Hermanus on the 3rd of March and grew up in Worcester.

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I completed my Studies in Medicine at the University of Stellenbosch and my intern ship was done at the Tygerberg Hospital.

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From 1985 up till 1992 my husband and I worked in a rural hospital called  Emmaus, which lies about 20km west of Winterton on the road to Cathedrals Peak Hotel.

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These years were packed with adventure, hiking in the Drakenberg, doing hundreds of caesarian sections, orthopaedic surgery, general surgery and also eye operations.

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In those years, the technique of a cataract operation  was to make a big incision in the cornea and freeze the lens and remove it.  Patients had to wear thick, +10.00 glasses after the operation due to the fact that the intra-ocular lenses were not widely available at that time.

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From 1990 until 1995 I worked as a general practitioner in the town of Winterton, as well as the district surgeon of the Escourt magistrate.  I missed the exciting surgery that we were able to perform at Emmaus Hospital.

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Then my husband and I did a 3-year MFAM MED (to be better qualified general practitioner) at the University of Orange Free State (making a trip yearly from Winterton to Bloemfontein)

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In 1996, I received a post as medical officer in Ophthalmology at Bloemfontein Hospital. I Qualified as an Ophthalmologist in 2000

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My husband and I moved to Potchefstroom in December 2000 and we are still working in our private practices since.

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If I had to choose again, I will definitely choose ophthalmology again.  The eye is certainly the most beautiful part of the human body.