A rubric to measure nurse-to-physician ISBAR communication

Introduction: Communication remains a priority improvement initiative throughout healthcare organizations globally (Interprofessional Education Collaborative [IPEC], 2106; The Joint Commission, 2019). Nursing students may have limited opportunities to communicate with physicians in the clinical setting. Use of a rubric may be helpful to better guide the teaching, learning, and evaluation of this critical skill.

Aim: This aim of this study was to determine validity and reliability of a rubric designed to measure nurse-to-physician communication.
Framework: The NLN/Jeffries Simulation Theory was used to guide the study.
Design and

Methods: Five physicians and five nurses evaluated the rubric for content validity. Fifty baccalaureate nursing students performed a nurse-to-physician phone communication in a simulated acute care hospital setting. Simulation performances were video-recorded. Three raters independently scored the simulation performances using the rubric. Item content validity and intraclass correlation (ICC) was calculated.

Results: The tool demonstrated validity amongst physicians and nurse educators. When examining the reliability of all variables within the rubric amongst the three raters, Chronbach’s alpha was determined to be .931. The criterion of “Identify” demonstrated an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of .640. The criterion of “Situation” had an ICC of .858. “Background & Assessment” had an ICC of .363. “Recommendation & Repeat” had an ICC of .822. “Order & Accuracy” had an ICC of .864.

Discussion: These study results supported the tool as valid and reliable.

Conclusion: Students and educators may benefit from a valid and reliable tool to guide and standardize the important skill of communication.