Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) Education for Health Care Students: Assessment of a Training Program

• Type of Material: Poster
• Authors: Beth Davis, Emory University; Sally A. Mitchell, Indiana University; Jeannie Weston, Emory University; Catherine Dragon, Emory University; Munish Luthra, Emory University; James Kim, Emory University; Hugh Stoddard, Emory University; Douglas Ander, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-01-01
• Publisher: Emory University Libraries
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 Davis et al.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11293
• Conference or Event Name: NEXUS SUMMIT 2019
• Grant/Funding Information: None to report.
• Keywords: Students, Health Occupations; Communication Skills; Delivery of Health Care; Quality Improvement/Patient Safety; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires; SBAR; Communication; Patient Safety; Interprofessional Education; Program Evaluation
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Health Care Management

Abstract

Introduction: Interprofessional communication failures are estimated to be a factor in two-thirds of serious health care-related accidents. Using a standardized communication protocol during transfer of patient information between providers improves patient safety. An interprofessional education (IPE) event for first-year health professions students was designed using the Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) tool as a structured communication framework. IPE literature, including a valid measurement tool specifically tailored for SBAR, was utilized to design the Interprofessional Team Training Day (ITTD) and evaluate learner gains in SBAR skills. Methods: Learners from six educational programs participated in ITTD, which consisted of didactics, small-group discussion, and role-play using the SBAR protocol. Individual learners were assessed using the SBAR Brief Assessment Rubric for Learner Assessment (SBAR-LA) on SBAR communication skills before and after the ITTD event. Learners received a written clinical vignette and submitted video recordings of themselves simulating the use of SBAR to communicate to another health care professional. Pre- and postrecordings were scored using the SBAR-LA rubric. Normalized gain scores were calculated to estimate the improvement attributable to ITTD. Results: SBAR-LA scores increased for 60% of participants. For skills not demonstrated before the event, the average learner acquired 44% of those skills from ITTD. Learners demonstrated statistically significant increases for five of 10 SBAR-LA skills. Discussion: The value to patient safety of utilizing structured communication between health care providers is proven; however, evaluating IPE teaching of communication skills effectiveness is challenging. Using SBAR-LA, communication skills were shown to improve following ITTD.