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SBAR

SBAR – a powerful tool to help improve communication!


powerful tool that is used to improve the effectiveness of communication between individuals.

Situation: Clearly and briefly define the situation. For example, ‘Mr. Jones has multiple
prescriptions of Coumadin in his home and he is unclear as to which ones he is supposed to
take.’

Background: Provide clear, relevant background information that relates to the situation.
In the example above, you should consider including the patient’s diagnosis, the prescribing
physicians, and the dates and dosages of the medications.

Assessment: A statement of your professional conclusion.


Recommendation: What do you need from this individual? For example, ‘Please clarify which
is the correct dose of Coumadin for Mr. Jones to take and which physician will be responsible for
managing his anticoagulant therapy?’

SBAR was first developed by the military

It was introduced to rapid response teams (RRT) at Kaiser Permanente in Colorado in 2002 to
investigate patient safety.
SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)

Situation
 determines what is going on and why health care professionals are needed.
 Identify the problem and concern and provide a brief description of it.

Be able to describe what is going on with the patient and why they are experiencing what
is going on.

During this stage of the communication the main goal is to communicate what is
happening.

It is recommended that this element be brief and last no more than 10
seconds.
Note!!!!! It is recommended that health care professionals identify the person with whom they
are speaking, to introduce oneself (including title or role) and where one is calling from.

Notes : Jonas Marvin Anaque RM, RN


SBAR
Providing information about the patient such as name, age, sex, and reason for admission is also
important. Lastly, the health care professional is to communicate the patient's status (such as
chest pain or nausea).
Background

The goal of background is to be able to identify and provide the diagnosis or reason
for the patient’s admission, their medical status, and history. As well as to determine
the background or context of the patient's visit.
 During this stage the patient's chart is ready and as much important medical-based
information is provided to set up the assessment of data.
Assessment
At this stage, the situation is surveyed to determine the most appropriate course of action.
Medically based aspects of the patient are to be provided at this time such as vital signs, recent
labs and other quantitative or qualitative data that might be available. If a diagnosis has
already been made, this is provided; alternatively, the temporary diagnosis is mentioned (while
keep sure that adequate empathy and concern towards the patient are exhibited).
Any impertinent information is avoided unless asked for.
At this stage, vital signs outside of normal parameters are specifically mentioned, as well as the
health care professional's clinical impression of the severity of the patient's status and additional
concerns.
Recommendation

Health care professionals give very precise and descriptive explanations on exactly
what they need during that time frame.

Possible solutions that could correct the situation at hand are discussed between health
care professionals.
 Notably, suggesting ideas to physicians can be a weak point of nurses.

Therefore, an explicit statement of what is required, how urgent, and what action needs to
be taken is paramount.

Preparation is an integral part of SBAR and health care professionals are


suggested to prepare to be able to answer any question the physician may ask. Discussion with
another colleague may help. It is highly recommended that information about medical records,
medication, administration records, and patient flow sheet be studied before contacting a
physician.

Example of use in clinical setting


This is a direct example that shows how SBAR communication is used in a hospital setting
involving communication between two nurses to effectively assess and diagnose the patient and
correct the problem. This example is between an preoperative nurse to operating room nurse.

Notes : Jonas Marvin Anaque RM, RN


SBAR
Situation: "Mary, I'm going to be sending Mrs. Porter over to you in a few minutes for repair of
her fractured ankle. I want you to know what's going on with her. I'm concerned about her
emotional status. I've also alerted Dr Anesthesiologist and Dr Surgeon about my concern, but
they have agreed to go ahead with the surgery because she needs this procedure to salvage her
foot."
Background: "She was in an auto accident last Friday, and her husband was killed. Her children
are all at the funeral home making arrangements for his burial. She's made some comments about
not wanting to live. Her vital signs are stable; the foot is cool and slightly mottled. We've just
given her some Versed."
Assessment: "I think her emotional status is such that this will be a very difficult period of time
for her, especially during induction and awakening from anesthesia."
Recommendation: "I suggest that you meet her as soon as possible and stay with her during
induction and emergence from anesthesia."

Effects of use
 Using the SBAR communication model provides for more effective and
enhanced family and patient outcomes on pediatric units.
 Using SBAR when producing bedside reports increases patient and family satisfaction
and also increases their level of comfort when dealing with outlying situations.
 SBAR also allows nurses to be more effective when giving reports outside of the
patients room.
 SBAR is a model used in communication that standardizes information to be given and
lessons on communication variability, making report concise, objective and relevant.
 SBAR is that it allows patients to have the time to ask any questions that they might
have, and allows patients to gain exact knowledge of information related to their plan
of care.
 SBAR allows patients to be fully aware of whom their nurse is on every shift and this
adds to the patients sense of comfort knowing that there will always be someone around
looking after them during shift change.
 SBAR use has not only improved the relationship between the doctors and the nurses but
has also had a dramatic increase of overall health of patients.
 This led to a decrease in hospitalizations and deaths which efficiently improved
communication between the nurse and doctor, which also led to a reduction of
unexpected deaths. The problem between the communication between nurses and doctors
is that the levels of teamwork and interaction are different therefore causing ineffective
communication
 SBAR has been used in quality improvement projects that have looked at ways of
avoiding hospitalizations.

Notes : Jonas Marvin Anaque RM, RN


SBAR
Limitations
SBAR communication encounters difficulties in certain situations which are:

 If the recipient is unfamiliar with the concept of SBAR.


 SBAR is a difficult concept to learn and practice and as such requires thorough education
about the subject matter complete with necessary follow-up. A supportive environment, role-
playing, and a skills assessment may help with the process.
 Further emphasis must also be given on recommendation since it has been seen that the R in
SBAR has been the weak point of nurses. Giving advice to physicians on what to do is
found to be intimidating for some nurses.
 A disadvantage to using the SBAR communication model within bedside reporting can be
the issue of having to wake up patients and families when the practice of bedside charting
occurs. Health care professionals and units must find an alternative way to deal with the
patients and their families decisions if they chose not to be awakened and involved in
bedside charting.
 Another disadvantage to using SBAR when bedside charting is the issue of disclosing
sensitive topics or new information that has not been shared with the patient and/or
family before or after the bedside charting takes place. An alternative to this can be for
nurses to makes plans to share new or sensitive information before or after bedside report.
 Using SBAR communication when bedside charting causes a disadvantage for itself through
the sharing of confidential information with the patient where it could be over heard by other
patients. The effective communication that
 SBAR promotes leaves room for confidential information to be disclosed when nurses and
doctors have discussions with patients causing patients and their families having negative
opinion about participating in beside charting, ultimately interfering with the use of the
SBAR communication model.

Notes : Jonas Marvin Anaque RM, RN

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