HOW TO USE SBAR

At my job we use SBAR for communicating with md's.

S - situation
B - background
A - assessment
R - recommendation
Dr. Jones, this is Deb McDonald RN, I am calling from ABC Hospital about your patient
Jane Smith.
Situation: Here's the situation: Mrs. Smith is having increasing dyspnea and is
complaining of chest pain.
Background: The supporting background information is that she had a total knee
replacement two days ago. About two hours ago she began complaining of chest pain.
Her pulse is 120 and her blood pressure is 128/54. She is restless and short of breath.
Assessment: My assessment of the situation is that she may be having a cardiac event
or a pulmonary embolism.
Recommendation: I recommend that you see her immediately and that we start her on
02 stat.
THIS IS AN EXPAMPLE I OBTAINED OFF THE INTERNET.....OF COURSE, I WOULD
WANT MORE IN MY BACKGROUND S/S SUCH AS O2 SATS, PTS DESCRIPTION
OF CHEST PAIN, ETC. ALWAYS WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY
BEFORE YOU CALL THE DOC, AND ALWAYS KNOW YOUR LABS! HOPE THIS
HELPS!

Tips for materials in your pockets…

I love the dickie tops with the 2 pockets and 1 small pocket in the pocket. I keep my tape
on my hemostat clamped to my shirt.

Palm pilot and chapstick in the left pocket, 2 pens, spare change and a few dollars in the
right pocket. In the mini pocket I keep my scissors, etoh wipes and maybe a few flushes.

I have a transparent clip board for my report sheets, etc. On the underside, I mounted
common lab values, unit phone numbers and pc logins, etc. All which show throught the clip
board.