Of the 5 hypotheses, 3 were supported. It was expected
the SBAR report tool would keep nurses more
focused and would lead to shorter reports. Whereas
their time on task improved (54.6% to 66.4%), the
overall duration was unchanged. Given the common
complaint that shift reports are too long,11-13 it is
actually encouraging SBAR did not increase report
time, although it did not shorten it.
The hypothesis of increased time on shift report
tasks was supported. Shift reports rarely proceeded
from beginning to end without interruption, as there
were often calls, interactions, and miscellaneous tasks
which must be performed at the beginning of a shift.
This is borne out by the fact that more than 95% of
the 146 observations included nonYshift report tasks.
However, the introduction of SBAR resulted in significantly
more time spent on shift report tasks, with
nurses switching to other tasks less frequently. Any
increase in focus and reduction in nonpertinent tasks
are positive froma process and cognitive perspective