SBAR Shift Master

What it is

SBAR Shift Master starts where every shift starts: report. The off-going nurse gives you a spoken SBAR handoff (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) using your device's built-in voice. Turn on the transcript if you need it, or replay the report.

Then the clock starts. Select the assessment findings you expect for this patient and the actions, labs, and safety steps that apply. Each right choice is +10, each wrong or unsafe choice is minus 5. Then you see the diagnosis and the rationale.

There are 30 high-yield diagnoses across med-surg, cardiac, critical care, pediatrics, and maternity. Work 5 or 10 patients at a Relaxed, Normal, or Rapid pace, and finish with a shift grade.

What you'll learn

• Listen for the key details in an SBAR handoff
• Predict the assessment findings that go with a diagnosis
• Choose the right actions, labs, and safety steps
• Avoid unsafe choices that cost points (and patients)
• Build a mental plan before you even walk in the room

How it helps you

NCLEX tests clinical judgment, using NCSBN's Clinical Judgment Measurement Model. Every NURSYN game is built on the nursing process. SBAR Shift Master works these ADPIE steps: Assessment, Diagnosis, Implementation.

• Covers Assessment, Diagnosis, and Implementation: hear the cues, name the problem, act
• Trains recognizing and analyzing cues from what you hear, the first NCJMM steps
• Builds the handoff communication skills the AHRQ SBAR tool is designed for
• Works as a whole-class activity on a projector

How to play

1. Pick 5 or 10 patients and your pace, then tap Take report
2. Listen to the SBAR handoff (transcript optional)
3. Select every assessment and every action, lab, and safety step that applies
4. Submit, then read the diagnosis and rationale
5. Finish the shift and review your grade

Clinical topics covered

Sources

The clinical content and the teaching approach behind this game line up with these references.

1. TeamSTEPPS Tool: SBARAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). How care teams use Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation to communicate about a patient.
2. NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement ModelNCSBN. The framework NCSBN uses to measure clinical judgment and decision making on the NCLEX.
3. QSEN Competencies (Pre-Licensure KSAs)Quality and Safety Education for Nurses. The six quality and safety competencies, including Safety and Teamwork and Collaboration.
4. Game-thinking: utilizing serious games and gamification in nursing education, a systematic review and meta-analysis (Nylén-Eriksen et al., 2025). BMC Medical EducationBMC Medical Education. Pooled studies show serious games and gamification work in nursing education, with the strongest benefit for knowledge and a more modest effect on skills.