help with ISBAR please?

Roseyposey · Feb 5, 2013

This is a school assignment, right? I can only speak to how I give a hand-off report, so it may not be what your instructors are looking for. We use SBAR at my job, is the "I" "introduction"? If this doc already cares for this patient, it would change how I request the order. "This is Nurse, Rosey, and I'm taking care of your 80-year-old diabetic patient, Mr. Smith. (that may be all it takes for the PCP to know who you're talking about). He's got a (size) ulceration on his (location) from a 3-week-old injury; he's been soaking it. The toe is edematous, erythemic, and oozing small/medium/large amounts of (color) exudate that (odor). The swelling and redness (travels up to ..... is isolated to toe....). I would like to culture the wound and start him on xyz abx because he is allergic to...or NKDA." I am not sure what your instructors expect; I generally don't give an entire Hx if the provider is already aware of the patient and is the prescriber of their meds. Your info sounds pretty good, I would try to make it as brief but thorough as possible.

As far as the second question, you already are using a standardized hand-off tool - that's what the SBAR is. Just take your ICU patient and do what you did for your diabetic with the infx.

A standard report from me would be something like this:

Intro/Situation: "This is Nurse Rosey calling from the PACU, I have Ms. Brown ready for you."

Background: "She is a 65 year old patient of Dr. Important's who had a lap chole today. She is allergic to PCN and has a history of htn, obesity, and a 50 year pack-history of smoking. She has been with me for 1.5 hours."

Assessment: "She has 20 g iv in her RFA and 500 of LR up in bag #3. She has Teds, flow-trons and a Morphine PCA set at 1mg every 10 minutes with a 24 in 4 lock-out. She has four lap sites (give sites) that are steri-stripped and dry; Dr. Important injected Xcc's of 0.5% Marcaine w/Epi into the sites; her EBL was

Recommendations: I will be ready to bring her to you in about five minutes. She is on a cart, so if you could have her bed ready and we will need at least two more people to help with the transfer, that would be great. I will call the waiting room and let the family know we are moving her." (I would also let them know here if there is anything that needs to be done right on arrival - Dr. Important has ordered a test/abx/etc. as soon as she is in her room - this just gives them courtesy heads-up)

Then you give the receiving nurse a chance to ask questions.

I am sure that an instructor would probably rip this to shreds, but it works for me, and hopefully gives you a rough idea. You are a student, you are supposed to be learning how to do this, so hopefully your instructors will give you constructive feedback on this assignment that will help you in your real-world communications.

allnurses Guide · Feb 5, 2013

^^

Excellent response :)

Lucidity · Feb 5, 2013

thanks that definitely helps!! :)

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2013

This is a school assignment, right? I can only speak to how I give a hand-off report, so it may not be what your instructors are looking for. We use SBAR at my job, is the "I" "introduction"? If this doc already cares for this patient, it would change how I request the order. "This is Nurse, Rosey, and I'm taking care of your 80-year-old diabetic patient, Mr. Smith. (that may be all it takes for the PCP to know who you're talking about). He's got a (size) ulceration on his (location) from a 3-week-old injury; he's been soaking it. The toe is edematous, erythemic, and oozing small/medium/large amounts of (color) exudate that (odor). The swelling and redness (travels up to ..... is isolated to toe....). I would like to culture the wound and start him on xyz abx because he is allergic to...or NKDA." I am not sure what your instructors expect; I generally don't give an entire Hx if the provider is already aware of the patient and is the prescriber of their meds. Your info sounds pretty good, I would try to make it as brief but thorough as possible.
As far as the second question, you already are using a standardized hand-off tool - that's what the SBAR is. Just take your ICU patient and do what you did for your diabetic with the infx.
A standard report from me would be something like this:
Intro/Situation: "This is Nurse Rosey calling from the PACU, I have Ms. Brown ready for you."
Background: "She is a 65 year old patient of Dr. Important's who had a lap chole today. She is allergic to PCN and has a history of htn, obesity, and a 50 year pack-history of smoking. She has been with me for 1.5 hours."
Assessment: "She has 20 g iv in her RFA and 500 of LR up in bag #3. She has Teds, flow-trons and a Morphine PCA set at 1mg every 10 minutes with a 24 in 4 lock-out. She has four lap sites (give sites) that are steri-stripped and dry; Dr. Important injected Xcc's of 0.5% Marcaine w/Epi into the sites; her EBL was
Recommendations: I will be ready to bring her to you in about five minutes. She is on a cart, so if you could have her bed ready and we will need at least two more people to help with the transfer, that would be great. I will call the waiting room and let the family know we are moving her." (I would also let them know here if there is anything that needs to be done right on arrival - Dr. Important has ordered a test/abx/etc. as soon as she is in her room - this just gives them courtesy heads-up)
Then you give the receiving nurse a chance to ask questions.
I am sure that an instructor would probably rip this to shreds, but it works for me, and hopefully gives you a rough idea. You are a student, you are supposed to be learning how to do this, so hopefully your instructors will give you constructive feedback on this assignment that will help you in your real-world communications.

This is a great example.......follow these steps

ISBAR in action

Introduction

Introduce yourself and your role in the patient’s care
State the unit you are calling from when speaking with a physician over the phone

Situation

Specify the patient’s name and current condition or situation
Explain what has happened to trigger this conversation

Background

State the admission date of the patient, his or her diagnosis, and pertinent medical history
Give a brief synopsis of what’s been done so far (e.g., lab test)

Assessment

Give a summary of the patient’s condition or situation
Explain what you think the problem is or say, “I’m not sure what the problem is, but the patient is deteriorating”
Expand upon your statement with specific signs and symptoms

Recommendation

Explain what you would like to see done (e.g., lab tests, treatments, or “I need you to see the patient now”)
State any new treatments or changes ordered (e.g., monitoring and frequency or when to re-notify the physician if there is no improvement in the patient)

sbarly · Feb 6, 2013

heyy..i reccomend this page on sbar samples..it has helpful links to a few essays and pdfs on handoff techniques!