This training package is addressed to lecturers and trainers in the field of paediatrics on how to assist paediatric undergraduate and resident students in developing and consolidating their soft skills for improving the quality of paediatric services.
Communicating with Other Health Care Staff in Pediatrics
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5.3. Soft skills to Be Used with other Health Care Staff in Pediatrics
5.3.2. Direct Communication, Communication Guidelines: SBAR
Doctors and nurses often have different communication styles, in part due to their education and training. Nurses are taught to be more descriptive of clinical situations, whereas physicians learn to be very concise. Standardized communication tools are very effective in bridging this difference in communication styles (Hughes, 2008).
SBAR is a model of structured communication that help clinicians have a shared mental model for the patient’s clinical condition. SBAR is an acronym given by Leonard M. (2008). and it stands for “Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation”. Haig et. al. (2006) show in a case study that staff can adapt quickly to the use of SBAR, although hesitancy was noted in providing the “recommendation” to physicians. Staff members are encouraged to recommend on the basis of their observations, and this assists physicians with situational awareness through the eyes of the bedside caregiver. Staff members feel empowered and have influence over decisions that affect work life using SBAR, thus improving job satisfaction.
Recent analysis (Vardaman et al., 2012) revealed four dimensions of impact that SBAR has beyond its use as a communication tool: schema formation, development of legitimacy, development of social capital, and reinforcement of dominant logics. The results indicate that SBAR may function as more than a tool to standardize communication among nurses and physicians. Rather, SBAR may aid in schema development that allows rapid decision making by nurses, provide social capital and legitimacy for less-tenured nurses, and reinforce a move toward standardization in the nursing profession. Our findings further suggest that standardized protocols such as SBAR may be a cost-effective method for hospital managers and administrators to accelerate the socialization of nurses, particularly new hires.
“SBAR promotes the six aims of the Institute of Medicine in providing safe, efficient, effective, equitable, timely, and patient-centered lines of communication.” (Kathleen, 2001)
Online Resources
Structured communication: SBAR
- A specific clinical experience describing the SBAR approach.Leonard M., Graham S., Bonacum D.: The human factor: The critical importance of effective teamwork and communication in providing safe care. Qual Saf Health Care 13 (suppl 1):i85–i90, Oct. 2004
- A case study describing how SBAR is utilizedHaig, K. M., Sutton, S., & Whittington, J. (2006). SBAR: a shared mental model for improving communication between clinicians, The joint commission journal on quality and patient safety, 32(3), 167-175
- A case study describing the benefits of SBAR standardised communication process.Vardaman, J. M., Cornell, P., Gondo, M. B., Amis, J. M., Townsend-Gervis, M., & Thetford, C. (2012). Beyond communication: The role of standardized protocols in a changing health care environment, Health Care Management Review, 37(1), 88-97)
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