Effectiveness of the SBAR-Based training program in self-efficacy and clinical decision-making of undergraduate anesthesiology nursing students: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND: Structured Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) training technique have been widely utilized in clinical and educational settings. Therefore, the current study investigated the effectiveness of an SBAR-based educational program in students’ self-efficacy and clinical decision-making skills. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest and posttest design and a control group at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. A total of 70 three- and fourth-year students were recruited for the study using the census method. The students were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in an SBAR-based educational course consisting of eight sessions held in 4 weeks. Differences in the levels of self-efficacy and clinical decision-making skills before and after participation in the SBAR course were assessed and compared. Data were analyzed using descriptive tests, the Mann-Whiney U test, paired and independent t-tests, and the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: The intervention group demonstrated significantly higher levels of self-efficacy with a mean score of 140.66 ± 22.43 (P < 0.001) and clinical decision-making with a mean score of 75.31 ± 7.72 (P < 0.001); while in the control group, the mean score of self-efficacy and clinical decision-making skills was 85.34 ± 18.15 and 65.51 ± 4.49, respectively. Moreover, the Mann-Whitney U test showed that the levels of students’ clinical decision-making skills were promoted to the next level after the intervention (P < 0.001); it means the distribution of the level of intuitive-interpretive skill was upgraded from 0 to 22.9%. CONCLUSION: The SBAR-based training programs can promote the self-efficacy and clinical decision-making skills of anesthesiology nursing students. Considering the weakness of the anesthesiology nursing curriculum at the undergraduate level in Iran, it can be expected that the SBAR-based training course should be included as an educational intervention in the curriculum of anesthesiology nursing students.