Role Modeling SBAR Communication

Background: Communication is a critical healthcare skill; communication errors in healthcare settings have produced sentinel events and caused patient deaths. Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR), a standardized clinical communication format, is being introduced in nursing education to support early development of successful inter-professional communication. Role modeling has been shown to be an effective way to teach students complex communication skills.

Method: Pre-licensure nursing students participated in a high fidelity simulation experience. One group of students viewed a video role modeling SBAR before beginning the simulation (N=20). Student communication using SBAR was evaluated after the simulation experience for both groups. The second group of students did not view the video role modeling SBAR until after completing the simulation (N=20).
Results: Viewing a role modeling video on SBAR before participating in a simulation had no effect on the students SBAR performance after the simulation. The students’ evaluation of the video reported the video provided a clear, helpful demonstration of the SBAR communication method.

Conclusion: Role modeling can be used to improve students’ ability to apply SBAR, however more research needs to be done to determine the most effective way to role model the behavior.