Utilizing an SBAR Workshop With Baccalaureate Nursing Students to Improve Communication Skills

Using Simulation to Improve Communication Skills

Ineffective communication is implicated in 80% of medical errors, costing the United States approximately $12 billion annually. Teaching communication skills is a component of nursing curricula linked to improved patient outcomes. Simulation-based experience (SBE) is a strategy for healthcare professionals to learn communication skills. Providing nurses with the ability to practice nurse-nurse, nurse-physician, nurse-patient, and team communication skills in a psychologically safe learning environment provides an opportunity for skill development and meaningful self-reflection. The multiple modalities for SBE support needed communication techniques for skill development and acquisition to improve patient outcomes.

The effect of ISBARR on knowledge of and attitudes about interprofessional communication skills among Chinese undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional communication is essential for the coordination and collaboration of healthcare team members during patient care, especially in critical situations. Therefore, nursing students must learn and practice interprofessional communication skills throughout their education and clinical training. Previous studies evaluating standardized communication frameworks in the United States (e.g., ISBARR [identify, situation, background, assessment, recommendation, and repeat]) suggest that nursing students feel more confident about interprofessional communication and collaboration through familiarity with these frameworks.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of an ISBARR workshop on knowledge of and attitude about effective communication among Chinese undergraduate students.

DESIGN

A pre- and posttest quasi-experimental study.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 90 undergraduate nursing students at a vocational health college in China.

METHOD

The two-part ISBARR workshop featured a lecture and a video-simulation exercise. Differences in students' knowledge of and attitudes about interprofessional communication skills using ISBARR were compared pre- and post-workshop.

RESULTS

We observed a statistically significant (p < 0.001) improvement in overall mean scores of students' knowledge of and attitudes about utilizing ISBARR post-workshop. We also observed a statistically significant (p < 0.001) improvement in the overall mean scores of students' knowledge of and attitudes about ISBARR after the video-simulation exercise.

CONCLUSION

The ISBARR workshop improved Chinese nursing students' knowledge and attitudes about interprofessional communication. Incorporating ISBARR into the nursing healthcare team eventually can lead to improved patient safety. Subsequent studies should target nursing faculty and clinical instructors to evaluate their knowledge and attitudes about teaching ISBARR and interprofessional education. Improving these attitudes can help establish a positive interprofessional communication learning environment for nursing students in China and other cultural contexts worldwide.