TEMPUS project- student exchange
250 years ago Maria Theresia founded the Faculty of Veterinary medicine in Vienna.
Now days this faculty has a status of University and is one of the best in Europe and also the
oldest in German-speaking area. On the one hand, it has its long tradition and on the other hand it
impeccably contributes in veterinary medicine field and other related science. On the university
plenty of scientific papers were written and it’s how it continuously works on the improving the
man- animal relation. The university is situated in the 21st district on Vienna on the 16 ha area
and counts 47 buildings which date from 1996. Except of that, the university has its Department
for researching the wild animals and ecology and Konrad Lorenz Etology Department, than the
Researching and Teaching farm in Lower Austria. The number of employed person at the
University is 1335 and there is 684 academic staff from which 37 professors. There is 2334
student who is studying at this university and in year of 2014, 211 have finished their studies.
The following degrees are offered: Biomedicine and Biotechnology (Bachelor and Master
degree), Bachelor Program Horse science, Comparative Morphology (Master- English),
Interaction Man- Animal (Master), Veterinary medicine (Diploma study and Doctor study), PhD
programs.
Diploma studies of veterinary medicine lasts 12 semesters. In the 10th and 11th
semester students are studying the special module which they are choosing before enrolling the
study. There are following modules to study: Small animal medicine, Horse medicine, Foodproducing animals, Conservation medicine, Reproductive biotechnology, Hygiene of food
products. After finishing studies, mag. vet. med. could enroll internship (12 months) or enroll
Doctor studies which last 3 years. Finished internship is precondition for the Residency
Specialization and the Residency Specialization precondition for becoming International
Certificate of “Diplomate of veterinary medicine”. The one who finished Doctor study become
title “Dr”.
Internships at the University of Vienna
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Small Animal Medicine
Equine Medicine
Ruminant Medicine
Reproductive Medicine
Students learn theory part on the lectures, practical part on the exercises which is
always performed on the animals or the animal models. Clinical rotation is to be attend in the
9th, 10th and 11th semester of the study. Students work on the different clinics: on the surgery
clinic 4 weeks ( 2 of them on orthopedic and 2 of them on the common surgery), 2 weeks on the
internal medicine, 2 on the gynecology, 1 on the anesthesiology, students of the small animal
module 1 week also on the clinic of pet birds.
In the period from 2.2. until 28.4. I have done practical training on the clinic of Small
animal internal medicine, from 1.3. until 31.3. on the clinic of the Internal medicine Horses and
from 1.4 until 28.4. on the Clinic for Gynecology, andrology and Obstretics- small animals.
Practical training on the Clinic of Small animal- Internal medicine
Clinic of Small animal- Internal medicine is divided in to two main parts: Ambulatory
and hospital. There are many different ambulatories: Gastroenterology, Neurology,
Endocrinology, Dermatology, Cardiology, Ambulatory for reptiles, Ambulatory for rodents. As a
part of the clinic there is a Central Pharmacy, Central Lab, Containers for dead animals, many
other technical rooms (for food, washing, leaving stuffs, dogs bathroom, doctors offices. On the
one side of this clinic there are boxes for the beagle dogs which belong the university. Their
purpose are scientific experiments but only with taking care of animal welfare! For example, for
the time I stayed on the clinic, a student from 12th semester was collecting urine every morning
and examined it for the content of cortisol.
Every work day started on the same way: morning visiting round but happening in a
lecture office. Interns, doctors, and university professor were persons who I saw every morning.
The ones who were doing the night/weekend shift were shortly reporting about the patients
which got to the clinic. The following facts were to be mentioned: name, age, sex, breed,
diagnosis, short anamnesis, results of examination of blood (if it was performed), other important
analyses, currently therapy and the plan (which was always one of the most important to be
discussed). The price of staying at the hospital and analyses has to be in the limit of that the
owner already said. Before starting the treatment and during it the price has always to be
discussed with the owner. After these reports the patients are to be divided between interns. They
are taking care of those patients during the whole work day, they present it on the morning visits,
putting venous catheter, applying the therapy, doing the procedures which are normally
performed on this clinic, informs owner about currently condition, suggesting the plan ant the
therapy which is to be definitely decided by university professor.
Everything what is done and has to be done is in the university computer system “TIS”.
That is a program where anamnesis, analyses, radiology and ultrasound pictures, footnotes of
technical stuff, interns, doctors, owners, whether animal urinated or defecated. The students get
also success to this system by the student account. My duties were to be on the morning visit,
monitoring of all patients with taking the special care of the critical one (epileptics, various
tumors, the one who were losing a big amount of blood, diabetics...) Than I had to bring the
dog/cat from hospital to this room, do the main clinical examination, assist in complicated
procedures (urethral catheterization, lung aspirations, lymph node aspiration), doing the venous
puncture, assisting in the ultrasound examination, prepare and apply the therapy, bring the
patient to its box. I was always asking the questions to stuffs, whether I didn’t understand
because of the rush or dialect which is widly spoken in Austria. The interns and doctors were
explaining me so I can also understand every disease. Also, when there were too many patients
and technical stuff didn’t have time for going out with dogs, I was doing also this job.
The equipment I needed was: clean white coat, clinical white paints, clinical shoes, own
stethoscope, seizures, thermometer, notebook, name sign. Work day was from 8 until 16h but
very often I had to stay longer because if the therapy and checks at 16h. I did also two night
shifts which lasts 24 hours each. The main clinical examination I was doing in the big room
“Interne A”. There were 2 tables for examination, a microscope, libra, commonly used
medicaments and equipment, transporting system for delivering the samples to the Central Lab, 6
computers, ..
The Box with oxygen on the small animal clinic
In the first week of February I was the only one student on the practical training. The students in
Vienna have holiday than after all of the exams in January. In the second one week the other
student came and she has the same duties as I did. In the last week of this practical training I was
assisting in the ambulatories: Dermatology, Cardiology, Oncology, Endocrinology, Rodent
Ambulatory.
Clinical examination of a guinea pig.
Practical training on the Internal medicine of Horses
In the period from 1.3. until 31.3. I was doing the practical training on the Horse clinic for
Internal medicine. This is a part of the big horse clinic of university in Vienna where are also
clinics for surgery , stomatology, anesthesiology. The main menthor was Dr. Sonja Berger- Dipl.
ECEIM. The other doctors were Tzt. Phoebe Van de Haus, Tzt. Sina Hofberger- an intern ... The
working day on this clinic began at 7:15h when I was performing the morning clinical
examination and applying therapy to the internal medicine patients. I did it together with other
students. On the morning visits we had to tell other doctors about condition of the patient, short
anamnesis and the plan. Than there were some arranged interventions when horses were coming
only because of it to the clinic and also interventions of the horses situated in those stables. After
treatment at 12h, some other interventions were to be done and some patients with acute
condition were to be procedured. Sometimes I had to stay longer than 16h because of the
treatment f those problematic falls. I also did 4 night shifts in this month from 20h to 8 in the
morning and 3 “Spaetdinst” –3 late shifts from 16h to 20h. But all of this shifts lasted longer
because in the shifts all of the horses are to be treated (not only internal medicine horses) and
there were approximately 40 patients in all of the stables! The university has its own horses
which serve for students to do exercises in lower semesters. Some of them were also treated
during the period I stayed on the clinic.
There are 3 stables on the horse clinic. In one of them there are critical cases only of internal
medicine- colic. The most critical one is in the box with one wall which is actually a window. So
it is easy for the stuff who is sitting in the room with medication, equipment, .. to observe the
horse. Other critical cases are in the boxes with cameras what is performing on the monitor in the
room with equipment (“ICE room”). Other parts of the stables are reserved fr stomatology, ortho,
cancer. On the totally other part of the campus there is a stable for horses in isolation. There are
2 parts of this stable: the first is for the one with diagnosted herpes virus infection and in the
second one horses are separated so strangles horses and other infections of unknown origin can
be situated here. Near this stable there is other room for examination and only infectious horses
can be brought here. The same one is a part of the noninfectious stable. There are 2 examination
stands, equipment for endoscopy (endoscops, hoses, monitors), needles, different solutions,
swabs, syringes, infusion hoses and solution, cans, mobile forceps for cans and infusions
medications,.. As I was assisting different procedure, I had to prepare medication for treatment,
sedation, apply it, do a suction with syrings while BAL and TBS examination, monitor patients
while getting infusions or lung aspiration,.. Other essential equipment is in the Pharmacy which
is only by one door divided from examination room (Untersuchungsraum Interne).
The stable of Internal medicine-left
The room with animal models where students learn-right
As the other students did, I also discussed about many things with the doctors: abut anamnesis,
diagnostic procedures, therapy dosage, prevention,.. As on the previous clinic, I also had an
access to the “TIS” with special student account. Thanks to the polite and high qualified doctors
there are planty of things I learned..
The examination room of internal medicine- horses.-left
Collecting ejaculate of the male dog.-right.
Practical training on the clinic for gynecology, andrology and obstretics
On this clinic the doctors were pazing a lot of attention to explaining the facts to the students.
The main menthor was Dr. Anja Becher- Dipl. ECAR, Tzt. Nadine Schrammel, Univ. Prof.
Sabine Schaefer Somi,.. I worked everyday from 8 until 16h. When there was some emergency
operation to do, I came to assist. This clinic is organized into two ambulatory, an ambulatory
with sonographic equipment, OPE room (although many of operations were performed in the
clinic for small animal surgery), special room for taking the seed of males, laboratories for seed
testing, waiting rooms, reception rooms , infirmary. At half past 9 to the first patient was
arriving for a scheduled intervention. Every day another doctor was on the duty in the
ambulatory. Tuesday was a day that was reserved for operations but they were done also other
days. It was necessary to prepare the equipment to perform a gynecological examination, I was
able each time to examine vaginal mucosa with the help of a speculum, to make a staining and
examination of vaginal swab, assist in taking the seed of males, females insemination, diagnostic
procedures with the help of ultrasound, preparation of medicines, vaccination .. All appointments
for the day were ending at 16h. Number of visits per working day was on average 7-8, but some
days more, some less. At this clinic, I learned a lot about the diagnosis of gynecological and
andrological problems in dogs, therapy, prevention, surgical castration and sterilization
operations, hemometra, ...
A female dog prepared for Sectio Caesarea-left.
An examination room of this clinic-right.
A sonography room of the clinic for gynecology, andrology, obstretics-left.
Interpreting the vaginal swab on the monitor in a examination room- right.