Communication SBAR

The novice
- Students often lack experience in communication with physician and other healthcare
providers
- Learning to effectively communicate will facilitate trust

Facilitating communication
- The joint commission has addressed a need for standardized; communication to
provide patient safety
- SBAR communication provides an organized, logical sequence and improved
communication process to ensure patient safety

S = situation
- What is the situation?
- Why are you calling the physician?
- What is currently happening?
- Explain in few words, exactly what the situation is

B = background
- What is the background info?
- What are the vital signs and pertinent history?
- Explain how the situation came to be
- What were the circumstance leading to the present

A = assessment
- What is your assessment of the problem?
- What do y think problem is?

R = recommendation
- What should we do to correct the problem?
- How best to address the situation?
- What action do you propose?

SBAR: At change of shift

- Situation; patients name, Room no, age, diagnosis, chief complaint, medication and
allergy
- BACKGROUND: medical history
- ASSESSMENT: observations, such as VS, pain assessment, bowel sounds, lung
sounds, current IV lines
- RECOMMENDATION: patients care plan