SBAR Report Examples for Nurses

SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It is the structure nurses are taught for calling a provider and for handing off, and its whole purpose is to get a busy listener to the point in the right order. The format is simple. Using it under pressure, at 2 a.m., about a patient you are worried about, is the part that takes practice.

What each letter is for

Situation is why you are calling, in one or two sentences. Who the patient is, and what is happening right now. This is where people over-explain. The listener needs to know within about ten seconds whether to keep listening or to come to the bedside.

Background is the context that makes the situation make sense. Admitting diagnosis, relevant history, what has been done so far. Relevant is doing a lot of work in that sentence: the test is whether it changes what the listener does next.

Assessment is what you observed and what you think it means. This is the part new nurses skip, because saying what you think feels like overstepping. It is not. You are the person standing in the room, and your read is information nobody else has.

Recommendation is what you are asking for. An order, a review, someone to come and look. Ending without a clear ask is the most common way an SBAR call goes nowhere.

A worked example

The shape of a provider call, with the specifics kept generic. The point is the structure, not the clinical content.

S "This is [name], the nurse on [unit], calling about [patient] in room [number]. I am calling because they have become difficult to rouse over the last hour."

B "They were admitted two days ago for [diagnosis]. History includes [relevant conditions]. They have been alert and oriented since admission and received [medication] at [time]."

A "Their vitals are [values]. They are rousable to voice but not staying awake, which is a change from this morning. I think this may be related to [medication], but I am concerned about the trend."

R "I would like you to come and assess them. In the meantime, do you want me to hold the next dose and increase the frequency of neuro checks?"

Four short blocks. Under a minute to say out loud. Notice that the recommendation contains a specific ask plus a concrete question the listener can answer with a yes or no, which is what turns a call into a plan.

Where SBAR goes wrong

Burying the situation — three sentences of history before saying what is wrong
Skipping the assessment — reporting numbers without saying what you make of them
No recommendation — ending on "so I just wanted to let you know"
Background that is not background — the full admission story when two facts would do
Reading it cold — writing the four blocks down first takes thirty seconds and makes the call land

That last one is the practical argument for having SBAR on paper rather than in your head. Filling in four short boxes before you dial forces the ordering that makes the call work.

SBAR for handoff, not just escalation

SBAR is taught for provider calls, but plenty of units use the same structure for shift handoff, and some require it. The letters shift meaning slightly: situation becomes why this patient is here and how today went, background is the history that carries forward, assessment is where they stand now, and recommendation becomes what the next shift should watch for.

The benefit is the same either way. A fixed order means the person receiving it knows what is coming next, and nothing important ends up as an afterthought.

Keeping it on paper

An SBAR sheet is a single patient on a full page with four labelled bands sized to actually write in. You fill in the blocks before the call, or during handoff, and the structure does the remembering for you.

You can print one free, or add SBAR as a section to any sheet you already use.

Print a free SBAR handoff sheet Free · No signup · Every field editable

Questions

What does SBAR stand for?

Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It is a communication structure nurses use when calling a provider and, on many units, when giving shift handoff.

What is an example of an SBAR report?

A provider call follows the shape: "This is the nurse on [unit] calling about [patient]; I am calling because [what is happening now]." Then the admitting diagnosis and relevant history, then your observations and what you think they mean, then a specific ask such as a request to assess the patient or change an order.

What is the most common SBAR mistake?

Ending without a recommendation. A call that finishes on "I just wanted to let you know" leaves the listener without a decision to make. The second most common is skipping the assessment, which is where your judgement as the person at the bedside actually matters.

Should I write SBAR down before calling?

Most nurses do. Filling in four short blocks takes about thirty seconds and forces the ordering that makes the call land, especially when you are tired or worried.

This is a guide to organising and handing off information, not clinical advice. It does not replace your facility's policies, your unit's handoff standard, or your own judgement. A brain sheet is a personal working document and is not part of the medical record.