SBAR and clinical handover in PLAB 2

Whenever a PLAB 2 station asks you to hand over a patient or escalate to a senior, the examiner wants concise, safe, structured communication. SBAR is the tool that delivers it — keeping you focused even on the phone, without visual cues, under time pressure.

What SBAR stands for

• Situation — identify yourself, the patient, and the immediate problem.
• Background — the relevant clinical context, briefly.
• Assessment — the key observations and your level of concern.
• Recommendation — a clear, specific request and a timeframe.

Lead with the headline

The commonest handover mistake is burying the critical point in background detail. State the situation and your concern early, then fill in the background. The person on the other end should know within seconds how worried they should be.

Make an explicit recommendation

Vague handovers (“I just thought you should know”) score poorly. Say exactly what you want — “please could you review within the next 15 minutes” — and confirm the plan. Closing the loop on who does what, and when, is what makes a handover safe.

Common pitfalls

• Burying the key concern in detail.
• No explicit request or timeframe.
• Backing down when a busy senior pushes back.
• Not confirming the agreed plan.

Practise telephone handovers and escalations on ZWIP and use the feedback to tighten your SBAR structure and your assertiveness about urgency.