Having had exposure to sports medicine and surgery before, Vogler focused most of her time at EVMC on internal medicine and reproduction. Her day-to-day schedule at EVMC comprised her accompanying various doctors as they performed their morning rounds, where they would check-in on the horses, determining their ailment, how it should be treated, and what diagnostic tests needed to be performed. And depending on the severity, a treatment plan for the horse was formulated and their progress was checked each day to ensure they were on the path to recovery.
Vogler was most appreciative of the fact that there was always time to ask questions during her stay. “The doctors would never give one-word answers but actually take the time to explain everything in great detail, which is something that doesn’t happen in equine medicine because everyone's always in a rush. I was never on the sidelines, I felt like I was a part of the team from day one. I was never told to ‘just watch’, but was always part of the action and therefore actively learning,” she remarked.
Another thing she was impressed with was the breadth of diagnostic tools present all under one roof in EVMC. “Back home, we must go to a different clinic for everything, for example, the clinic that specialises in MRI will not be able to do a CT scan or scintigraphy. Additionally, at EVMC, there was a specialist for each type of technique who would explain it in-depth, and that made my learning experience so rich,” said Vogler.
“My trip to Qatar was my first experience of Middle Eastern hospitality. I was quite surprised, pleasantly of course, by how warm and welcoming people were. I was invited to a barbeque by people I met while sightseeing and that was quite alien to me as a German,” she told about her experience in Qatar.
As she prepared to fly back to Germany, Vogler was already planning her next trip to Qatar. “I would love to come back to EVMC for an internship after I finish my degree,” she added.