NMC OSCE SBAR Handover Template

Situation

Introduce yourself and the clinical setting.
Introduce the patient with their name, hospital number and/or date of birth, and where they are.
Give the reason for the handover, for example the end of your shift or that the patient's condition has deteriorated and you are escalating.

From the Assessment and Implementation paperwork. Presenting symptoms, diagnosis and date of admission.
Past medical history.
Social history. Leaving this out is a common fail.
A summary of all current medicines from the drug chart (regular, as required and once only), not just the home medicines on the history form.
Allergies and the reaction straight after the medicines. Missing these is a critical fail.
Medication risk factors from the drug chart, or say clearly that there are none.
Observations on admission.

The latest observations and condition from the evaluation template.
Current nursing needs, and the nursing and medical interventions completed (from your Planning and Implementation paperwork).
Compare now with admission (for example a higher NEWS score, more pain, more confusion, unstable blood glucose) and state your main concern clearly.

Base it on your main concern. For example, ask the doctor to review pain relief, or follow the NEWS policy and request a review by the rapid response or medical team.
Say how often the observations should be repeated, based on the current NEWS score.
Say whether the patient needs escalating to a higher level of care.

I said the social history.
I said the allergies and the reaction.
I said the medication risk factors, or that there are none.
I said the main nursing needs and the interventions already done.
I stated my main concern clearly.
My recommendation matches my concern.
I only included what is relevant, in professional language (no "I think" or "maybe").

Read the evaluation template carefully before the timer starts. It tells you how the patient is now.
Learn which paperwork feeds each section, so you can find each point quickly instead of writing long notes.
Keep notes short. The 8 minutes include your notes, so we suggest no more than about two and a half minutes on them.
Record yourself on your phone, then mark the recording against each section of this template.
Practise with a timer until the full handover fits comfortably in the 8 minute station. There is no extra time for notes, and the examiner does not mark them.