Using the PDSA cycle:
■■ Work with one doctor who is supportive and agree that the next time you
need to make an urgent call you will use the tool;
■■ Ensure you have a copy of the tool to hand. Keep it by the department
phone or in your pocket at all times. When the time comes to use it you
want to be able to find it;
■■ Use the tool;
■■ When appropriate discuss together how it felt from both sides of the
conversation;
■■ I ncorporate suggestions for improvement. For example, if you felt that
something was missing from the discussion, discuss including this in the
next test.
Once you have a process that works:
■■ Start introducing the tool to other nurses and doctors. Doing this
gradually enables you to keep refining the process until it suits your team
and your area;
■■ Make time for team discussion, reflection and refinement of the tool;
■■ I f it is proving successful, the next step is to get this into people’s
everyday habits, so it becomes ‘the way things are done around here’.
Include utilisation of SBAR for other forms of communication.