Monash medical students get interactive
AXM is designed specifically to help third year medical students
An interactive learning system, unique to Monash, is now available for the University’s third year medical students.
The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences developed AXM (Augmented eXperience Modules) to help students rapidly update their knowledge on a range of medical and surgical conditions.
Easily accessed on a tablet or smart phone, AXM is designed to be used just before and whilst seeing a patient. Prompts ensure students ask patients the right questions about their medical history, guiding them step-by-step through the process. The system also records a log of each patient interaction, which students can access later for revision.
With more than 50 modules on everything from asthma to lupus, local clinicians have written all of the content.
AXM has several components; a learning stage where students understand a medical or surgical condition in a multi-media, interactive way before seeing patients; a patient interview and examination stage which enables students to take and record patient history; the final stage assesses students knowledge on conditions they have encountered via a multiple-choice quiz.
Fiona Foley, AXM Project Manager, said the resource was designed specifically for third year medical students because it’s the first time during the MBBS course that students will spend extended periods in hospital working in rotation on a variety of wards.
“Depending on what rotation a student is on they may not have had specific lectures on particular conditions such as multiple sclerosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We realised that an electronic resource could really help these students, not only to help accelerate their learning but also make them feel more confident when interacting with a patient,” she said.
“AXM provides tailored information exactly when it’s needed, so students can use it to ensure they don’t miss anything.”
The resource, which has been in development for three years, went through extensive testing with students.
Shane Nandlal Anthony is currently doing a placement at the Alfred Hospital and is one of the first to have used AXM.
“It is a really easy to use tool that provides in depth information. So far I’ve used AXM when taking histories from patients on the ward. I found it gave me an excellent foundation to confidently explore each patient’s health issues,” he said.
“As well as on the ward, it’s been an excellent revision aid because it has all the topics covered in the third year. I would definitely recommend it to other students.”
Initially AXM will be available for third year students on placements at Alfred Health, Peninsula Health, Monash Health, Eastern Health and Epworth Richmond.
Fiona Foley said that if successful, AXM has the potential to be extended to other medical students and could even be adapted for courses in other disciplines.
“Other electronic resources for medical students tend to just give information or guide students through a simulated experience with a patient," she said.
"As far as we’re aware, AXM is the first one to combine detailed electronic resources with an actual patient encounter.
“There’s definite potential for this to work in a whole host of other disciplines where there is a requirement for information to augment an experience, anything from physiotherapy to geology.”