A Framework for Educator Storytelling: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Review (SBARR)

Delivering content in an interactive manner presented a specific challenge in a medical-surgical course. Storytelling, using an SBARR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Review) format, emerged as a means to deliver content in an interactive and engaging manner.

The purposes were to provide a framework for effective educator storytelling in the nursing classroom and after implementation of the framework, to gather student perceptions of the effectiveness of the SBARR framework.

A 2-stage qualitative methods approach using Bengtsson's method of thematic content analysis was chosen for the pilot study. Content analysis and a descriptive survey were used to gather student perceptions of the SBARR framework.

Five themes emerged: stay engaged, retain material, comprehend concepts, relate theory to practice, and develop critical thinking.

Nurse educators seeking to improve effectiveness while capitalizing on their wealth of experience from clinical practice may benefit from the use of storytelling using the SBARR format.