Publications by authors named "Gillian H S Vance"
Background: Little is known about how best to implement portfolio-based learning in medical school. We evaluated the introduction of a formative e-portfolio-based supervision pilot for final year medical students by seeking views of students, supervisors and graduates on use and educational effects.
Methods: Students and supervisors were surveyed by questionnaire, with free text comments invited.
Background: Alongside providing a knowledge base and practical skills, undergraduate medical education must prepare graduates to immediately begin practice as qualified doctors. A significant challenge is to provide safe learning opportunities that will optimise students' preparedness to start work. This study examined UK graduates' preparedness for clinical practice, and their exposure to real-life and simulated immediate care scenarios during final year placements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreasing evidence points to early life, including fetal life, as being a critical time period during which the infant's allergic fate may be determined. However, initial antigen priming in utero necessitates fetal exposure to maternally derived allergen. This article reviews our current knowledge regarding materno-fetal allergen transfer in vivo and reflects on mechanisms by which this exposure might exert immunomodulatory influences on the developing immune system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Exposure to various microbial products in early life reduces the risk of atopy. Such exposure induces downregulation of T(H)2 allergy-biased responses by means of pattern recognition molecules, such as CD14, an LPS receptor.
Objective: We sought to determine whether infant and maternal levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14) are associated with the atopic outcomes of infants.