Dr Elzaan Coetzee\u2019s journey into medicine began at age four, after a month-long hospital stay. \u201cOn the day of discharge, the staff gave me a \u2018going home\u2019 present consisting of expired drips and cannulas and since then I started \u2018treating\u2019 everyone\u201d. This sparked a calling, leading her to qualify as a specialist medical doctor in anaesthesiology by 30 at the University of the Free State, with a special interest in open vascular and hepatobiliary anaesthesia.<\/p>\n
Now a senior consultant at Universitas Academic Hospital and an independent practitioner, she balances public and private sectors. \u201cThe academic environment keeps me up-to-date, accountable to peers, humbled by challenging high risk cases,\u201d she says, valuing the opportunity to train junior doctors. In 2021, she founded the Ketamine Clinic at Bloemcare Psychiatric Hospital, for managing treatment-resistant depression. \u201cThe clinic aligns with South African anaesthetic guidelines, hospital protocols – with patient safety as a priority,\u201d while cherishing the multidisciplinary teamwork and community impact.<\/p>\n
Beyond medicine, family anchors her. Married to an \u201coutgoing, adventurous and supportive man,\u201d they raise two \u201cbright, humorous and beautiful boys.\u201d She reflects, \u201cHaving children, gave me new perspective to life – a new depth to love.\u201d Morning goodbyes to her family are non-negotiable, ensuring \u201cthey know that they are loved and being prayed for daily\u201d.<\/p>\n
Self-care, including weight training, Barre, and Krav Maga, is equally vital. \u201cIt is not just for staying fit, but to enhance personal strength, discipline and to appreciate being healthy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anaesthesiology, to Dr Coetzee, demands precision and compassion. \u201cBeing an anaesthesiologist is about being trustworthy, with the emphasis on being \u2018worthy\u201d. Difficult cases taught her empathy: \u201cIt is having the awareness that you are in a position to give support and possible answers or closure to another\u2019s prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guided by faith, she balances her roles as doctor, wife, and mother. \u201cI have chosen to be deeply committed to my profession, and to be fiercely present in my family,\u201d she affirms.<\/p>\n
Text and photograph by Warren Hawkins\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From a childhood dream of becoming a doctor, to balancing high-risk anaesthesiology and pioneering a ketamine clinic with her family life, Dr Elzaan Coetzee embodies precision, compassion, and unshakable faith. Dr Elzaan Coetzee\u2019s journey into medicine began at age four, after a month-long hospital stay. \u201cOn the day of discharge, the staff gave me a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":19462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,31],"tags":[8024,8023,8026,8022,8025,5954],"class_list":{"0":"post-19457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-people","8":"category-sponsored","9":"tag-anaesthesiology","10":"tag-dr-elzaan-coetzee","11":"tag-ketamine-clinic-at-bloemcare","12":"tag-she-means-business-dr-elzaan-coetzee-bloemcare","13":"tag-to-dr-coetzee","14":"tag-universitas-academic-hospital"},"yoast_head":"\n