Using SBAR to promote clinical judgment in undergraduate nursing students.

The purpose of this study was to describe how students identify and interpret multiple embedded clinical cues in a case study, and then reflect these using SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation). Using Tanner's model of clinical judgment, a descriptive design was used to examine SBAR assignments completed by second-semester nursing students (n = 80). The majority of students (n = 62, 77.5%) in the study were unable to successfully follow all of the clinical judgment phases of the model: noticing, interpreting, responding, and reflecting. Although SBAR is an important tool for communicating clinical information, gaps exist between noticing and interpreting clinical cues, and forming an appropriate course of action. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.