Clinical template
SBAR Template with Examples
SBAR is a four-line spoken (or written) handoff: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. Use it when you need another clinician to act — the MRP at 02:00, the receiving floor, or the rapid-response team — not as a substitute for the chart.
Blank SBAR
Keep this on a badge card or as a Scribeberry custom template. Say the patient's name, location, and the one problem you need help with in the first sentence. Then stop talking long enough for the other person to write.
SBAR
Date / time of call or transfer: From: [name, designation, unit, callback number] To: [MRP / receiving RN / RT / consultant] Patient: [name, age, bed / MRN] S — Situation (one or two sentences: who, where, what is wrong now) B — Background (relevant diagnosis, code status, key meds, allergies, last vitals, what has already been done) A — Assessment (what you think is happening; how unstable; what you have ruled out at the bedside) R — Recommendation (what you want: come now, orders, tests, transfer, who will call whom) Closed loop: orders received / read back / time MRP arrived / receiving RN name
Fictional patients
Every example on this page uses made-up names and findings. They are teaching material. They are not a substitute for college standards, unit protocols, or your own clinical judgment. Review every generated note before it enters the chart.
When SBAR is the right tool
Hospitals in Canada teach SBAR for transfer of accountability and for escalation. It is a conversation structure. The chart still needs a timed nursing entry and, if the MRP changes orders, a physician note or order. Do not paste a three-page SBAR into the record and call the work done.
| Section | What belongs here | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| Situation | Name, location, the acute problem, how worried you are | The entire admission history |
| Background | Why they are here, code status, relevant comorbidities, last vitals, treatments already given | A full ROS or a recitation of every lab from Tuesday |
| Assessment | Your working impression and how stable they are | False precision if you do not know — say you do not know |
| Recommendation | A specific ask with a timeframe | 'Just wanted you to be aware' with no request |
Nurse-to-MRP calls fail when Situation is vague ('she's not right') and Recommendation is missing. ED-to-floor transfers fail when Background skips pending cultures, last antibiotic time, and oxygen. Both fail when nobody writes down the closed loop.
Example 1 — nurse to MRP, overnight
Surgical ward to on-call MRP
72-year-old woman, London, ON. Post-op night 1. Phone call 02:10. Fictional.
S This is [RN], 6-Surgical, calling about Mrs. Helen Chen, 72, bed 14. BP 86/50, HR 118, new confusion over the last 20 minutes. I need you to come now. B Right cemented THA yesterday 14:00, EBL about 400 mL. Morning Hb 98. Hydromorphone PCA. NKDA. History of hypertension and CKD, eGFR 48. Code status: full code. Urine 40 mL in 3 hours. Dressing dry, calves soft, abdomen soft. SpO2 was 93% on room air; now 96% on 2 L NP. I held the PCA and gave 250 mL crystalloid per protocol. STAT CBC sent. A I think this is hypovolemia or bleeding. Opioid toxicity is less likely — pupils reactive, RR 16 — but I have held the PCA. She is not safe to watch from the desk. R Please come to the bedside now. I need you to assess for return to OR versus more fluid versus CT. Do you want a second bolus and a type-and-screen while you are on your way? Closed loop MRP on way, ETA 5 min. Type-and-screen ordered. Charge RN informed. Note entered 02:14.
Example 2 — ED to floor transfer
Emergency to medicine ward
58-year-old man, Surrey, BC. CTAS 3, transferring to 4B. Fictional.
S Transferring Mr. Chidi Okonkwo, 58, ED stretcher 6, to 4B bed 12. Community-acquired pneumonia, accepted by medicine. He is on 2 L NP. B Four days of cough and fever. T2DM on metformin. Never smoker. COVID and influenza swabs negative. CXR right lower-lobe infiltrate. WBC 14.2, lactate 1.8, Cr 92. Blood cultures pending. Ceftriaxone 1 g IV given 21:10, azithromycin 500 mg PO given 21:20. Metformin held. CTAS 3, arrived 18:40. Full code. No isolation order; airborne not indicated. A Stable for ward. SpO2 94% on 2 L. No ICU criteria. CURB-65 is 1 on age alone. Glucose 11.4 in ED. R Receiving RN: oxygen to keep SpO2 at least 92%, vitals q4h, diabetic diet, glucose QID, next ceftriaxone at 09:10. MRP medicine is Dr. [name]. I need a verbal acknowledgement of the last antibiotic time and that cultures are pending. Closed loop Receiving RN [name] repeated last ceftriaxone 21:10 and culture status. Patient left ED 22:05. Transfer note in ED chart.
Example 3 — critical potassium, medicine to MRP
Charge nurse to MRP, phone
67-year-old man, Winnipeg. General medicine. 16:40. Fictional.
S Lab just called a critical potassium 2.4 on Mr. Arman Patel, 67, bed 9, medicine. He is in sinus rhythm on the monitor, HR 72, BP 128/74. I am calling for replacement orders now. B Admitted for decompensated heart failure, day 3. On IV furosemide 40 mg BID. Yesterday K was 3.3, oral potassium 20 mmol given. Magnesium this morning 0.72. Digoxin not on profile. NKDA. Eating poorly. No diarrhea. A I think this is diuretic-related. He is currently stable but a K of 2.4 needs IV replacement and a magnesium check, not another oral tablet at bedtime. R Please order IV potassium per protocol, repeat lytes in 4 hours, and hold this evening's furosemide until you review. Do you want an ECG now? Closed loop ECG ordered. IV KCl 10 mmol in 100 mL over 1 h x 3 via peripheral, as per MRP. Furosemide held. Repeat lytes at 20:30. Note 16:48.
Mistakes on the phone and at the door
- Starting with the life story instead of the vital that is wrong.
- No location and no callback number, so the MRP cannot call back when the elevator stalls.
- Assessment skipped because 'that's the doctor's job' — you still owe a bedside impression.
- Recommendation that is only 'I just wanted you to know.'
- ED-to-floor handoff that omits last dose times, pending cultures, oxygen, and code status.
- No closed loop, so two people each think the other ordered the CT.
After the call, chart what you said, what was ordered, and the time. SBAR is the conversation. The record is how the next shift knows it happened. If a scribe or a template drafts the transfer note, you still read it against the last MAR times before you sign.
Turn the handoff into a note
Scribeberry can draft an SBAR from the conversation or from dictation in your unit's headings. Edit times and closed-loop details, then Smart Push into Accuro, OSCAR, Jane, or any web EMR. Pro is $99/month after the free trial.
Frequently asked questions
What does SBAR stand for?
Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It is a handoff and escalation format used on Canadian wards, in the ED, and on the phone with the MRP. It is not a full progress note.
Who uses SBAR in hospitals?
Nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians, and allied health. The two uses that fail most often are nurse-to-MRP overnight calls and ED-to-inpatient transfers. Both need a specific ask and a closed loop.
Is SBAR required for transfer of accountability?
Many Canadian units require a structured TOA; SBAR is the usual scaffold. Your site policy still governs what must be said at the bedside. The receiving clinician should repeat back the unstable items and last medication times.
Can Scribeberry generate an SBAR?
Yes. Pick an SBAR template (or your own headings), record or dictate the handoff, and generate. You review names, times, and orders before the note goes to the EMR.
Templates
