ISRRT_COVID-19_book

finding is also consistent with the Jowsey et al. 16 study suggesting that well-planned and
purposeful lessons are imperative for making a positive impact online.
Several socio-economic factors discussed in this study such as ‘IT poverty’ and bandwidth
issues in shared accommodation, contributed to the theme around ‘online quality’. These
correlate with findings in the meta-analysis completed by Fontain et al. 17 . He discussed that
insufficient technical resources prevented students from meeting learning goals. This
highlights the importance of the extra resources made available to students during this period
from UWE such as the ‘Digital Capability Scheme’ 18 . The students in this study noted the
increased assistance available to them.
The ‘online quality’ theme also suggested that students had an affinity towards the course
providers, commending them for their efforts in delivering the course despite the
circumstances. However, refuted the suggestion that UWE had provided ‘blended learning’
during the lockdown period. Sadeghi et al. 19 concluded that effective blended learning
increased student satisfaction levels, therefore as the students in this study unanimously
agreed that they were receiving online lessons only, this may explain their dissatisfaction and
even undervaluing the course and student experience. These findings may help to understand
why there is a record number of student complaints made against universities in 2020 20 and
the statistics concerning dissatisfied students found in the COVID-19 Insights Survey 21 .
The final aspect of this study discussed concerns relating to returning to placement during the
COVID-19 pandemic. One theme identified was ‘BAME risk’. A student expressed worry about
being more susceptible to COVID-19 due to their ethnicity, causing anxiety and fear in
returning to placement. Evidence suggests that currently, COVID-19 has a disproportionate
impact on BAME groups 22 , the student’s fear was therefore justified. This finding is consistent
with Savitsky et al. 15 concluding that fear of infection caused a reluctance to attend clinical
placement.
Evidence from Savitsky et al. 15 and Surrati et al. 23 suggest that a lack of clear infection control
measures and training caused anxiety in students attending clinical placement, this is
supported by the findings in this study. Within the ‘effective teamwork’ theme, students
expressed confusion regarding the correct level of PPE to employ and noted confusion
experienced by other hospital staff and different departments too. These findings are
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