Nursing SBAR Template & Report Guide
A clinical communication template designed specifically for floor, med-surg, and telemetry nurses. Standardize shift documentation, vital sign trend reporting, fluid balance (I&O) callouts, and urgent physician escalation calls.
Available SBAR Formats
Choose the format that fits your clinical workflow or educational setting.
Bedside Nursing SBAR Example
Copy-ready formatNursing Best Practices for Each SBAR Component
State your name, unit, patient name, and room number. Deliver the primary nursing concern in the first sentence. Avoid conversational pleasantries that delay clinical escalation.
Review the chart before calling: confirm admitting diagnosis, post-op day, code status, allergies, cumulative 12-hour I&O fluid balance, and scheduled IV medications.
Provide a complete set of fresh vital signs taken within the last 15 minutes. State numerical changes from baseline (e.g. "Systolic BP dropped from 136 to 92 mmHg").
Formulate an explicit request: ask for an immediate in-person bedside evaluation, specific IV fluid boluses, STAT diagnostic labs, or medication modifications.
The 60-Second Floor Nurse Pre-Call Checklist
Before picking up the telephone to page an attending physician, hospitalist, or resident, verify you have the following data immediately in front of you:
- ✓Electronic Health Record open to the patient's vitals flowsheet and medication administration record (MAR).
- ✓Fresh vitals: BP, Heart Rate/Rhythm, Respiratory Rate, SpO2 with O2 device, and current Temperature.
- ✓Current IV access: Gauge, anatomical location, line patency, and active continuous fluid infusions.
- ✓Recent lab trends: Morning CBC, electrolyte panel, creatinine, and any STAT pending results.