SBAR Tips
Why SBAR is Important in Nursing Communication:
• Making connections - understanding of the concept SBAR
• Critical thinking - apply relevant concepts to examine information about
communication in health care in a different light
• Knowledge application - use your knowledge to answer questions about
nurse-to-doctor communication
When you are talking with people, you want to be sure that they hear and understand
what you are saying. This is especially true if you are talking to them about a concern or
problem. In the healthcare profession, it is extremely important that specific information
is communicated in a way that will help everyone fully interpret the situation. Nurses use
the SBAR model of communication to help with this issue.
Good communication skills are essential for nurses to possess when interacting with
doctors. SBAR is a model that helps nurses with effective communication. It is used to
verbalize problems about patients to the doctors. The main goal is to receive responses
that involve solutions that will help the patients.
The Four Components of SBAR
SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation. Using
this model also encourages nurses and doctors to work together to come up with a plan
that is beneficial and safe.
SITUATION:
The situation is when the nurse describes the problem. When first talking with the
doctors, nurses introduce their name, professional title, and work location followed by
telling the names of the patients they are talking about. If working at a hospital, the
doctor is also informed of the unit and patient's room. Then the nurse explains the
patient problem in detail. This can be patient complaints like body pain, nausea, and
difficulty breathing. It can also include issues the nurse identified, such as an abnormal
blood pressure, bleeding, or change in a patient's level of consciousness.
An example of the situation portion of SBAR:
Hello Dr. Smith. This is Nancy, the nurse on the 9A unit, caring for Mr. John Brown in
room 920. I am contacting you because Mr. Brown called me into his room a few
minutes ago complaining of severe abdominal pain.
BACKGROUND:
The background is when the nurse mentions information about the patient that the
doctor needs to know to help identify the source of the problem and its potential
solution. This includes the reason the patient was recently seen by the doctor and
