I-SBAR Critical Thinking Questions
A. What communication practices minimize risks with hand-offs communication among health care providers across the continuum of care?
ANSWER:
Develop a standardized form or tool to hand-off or report patient information, such as the I-SBAR form.
Provide information that is relevant and timely.
Use appropriate tone, volume and speak clearly.
Identify the sender and the receiver of the information.
Allow time to ask questions.
B. Knowing necessary information needed for a safe hand-off report, what information was missing from the I-SBAR report that needed to be communicated to the oncoming nurse?
ANSWER:
Allergy status.
Abnormal laboratory values
The medications the patient refused.
Whether the health care provider was notified of elevated blood pressure, I&O’s, lung sounds and concerns of developing pneumonia.
What other information might the nurse include? Patient’s age, baseline vital signs, previous vital signs and next of kin.
C. Which statements identify patient values, preferences and expressed needs that support patient-centered care?
ANSWER:
“The patient has refused all medications during my shift stating she wants to wait until she speaks to the physician.”
“The patient’s code status is DNR.”
D. How does I-SBAR reporting support national patient safety resources, initiatives and regulations?
ANSWER:
I-SBAR reporting supports National Patient Safety Goal #2 to improve effectiveness of communication among caregivers. It is a standard means of communication that can be used to report patient’s status, include change of condition, shift report and “hand off” communication from one department to another.
I-SBAR reporting also supports the QSEN initiative to improve quality and safety across the healthcare system by linking communication with patient centered care, safety, as well as teamwork and collaboration.