| Course | DNP 715 Dynamics and Principles of Information in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | SBAR recommendation paper |
| Length | About 385 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | Doctor of Nursing Practice |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DNP 715 Module 5
SBAR: Closing the Gap Between Documented and Real Bedside Scanning
Student Name
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University
DNP 715: Dynamics and Principles of Information in Healthcare
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
SBAR: Closing the Gap Between Documented and Real Bedside Scanning
Situation
On the 30-bed medical-surgical unit, barcode scanning compliance appears high, 92% for wristbands and 95% for medications, but nurses report scanning spare labels and batches of medications away from the bedside. These workarounds produce a compliant record without the safety check the system exists to provide.
Background
Barcode medication administration with an electronic administration record reduced non-timing administration errors by 41.4% in a large study (Poon et al., 2010). The benefit depends on scanning the patient and each medication at the bedside. A study of workarounds found 15 types with 31 causes, many rooted in equipment and workflow rather than individual carelessness (Koppel et al., 2008). Our unit shows several of those causes: wristbands that become unreadable, weak wireless coverage in two rooms, shared scanners and frequent alerts that nurses consider unhelpful.
Assessment
The workarounds are a system problem. Nurses keep spare labels because wristbands fail to scan; they batch-scan because scanners are shared and some rooms drop the wireless connection. Disciplining individuals would not remove these causes and would discourage reporting. SBAR is designed to give leaders a shared, concise picture of a problem and a clear request (Haig et al., 2006), so each recommendation below targets a cause.
Recommendations
| Recommendation | Cause addressed | Owner | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Replace wristbands with a water-resistant label stock and print replacements at the bedside printer | Unreadable wristbands | Informatics and supply chain | Wristband scan failures per 100 scans |
| 2. Remove spare patient labels from workstations; print only on demand with a logged reason | Spare-label scanning | Nurse manager | Spare labels found on monthly audit |
| 3. Fix wireless coverage in rooms 12 and 14 | Batch scanning, dropped connections | Information technology | Connection drops per week |
| 4. Assign one scanner per nurse each shift | Shared scanners | Nurse manager | Scanner availability checks |
| 5. Review the five most overridden alerts with pharmacy and retire or revise those with no safety value | Alert fatigue and overrides | Pharmacy and informatics | Override rate |
Evaluation
Direct observation of 50 medication passes before and three months after the changes will measure true bedside scanning, the measure the dashboard cannot provide. We will also track the dashboard measures and reported medication events.
Request
Approve recommendations 1 to 5 as a 90-day unit pilot, with results reported to the medication safety committee.
References
Haig, K. M., Sutton, S., & Whittington, J. (2006). SBAR: A shared mental model for improving communication between clinicians. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 32(3), 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1553-7250(06)32022-3
Koppel, R., Wetterneck, T., Telles, J. L., & Karsh, B.-T. (2008). Workarounds to barcode medication administration systems: Their occurrences, causes, and threats to patient safety. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 15(4), 408-423. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M2616
Poon, E. G., Keohane, C. A., Yoon, C. S., Ditmore, M., Bane, A., Levtzion-Korach, O., Moniz, T., Rothschild, J. M., Kachalia, A. B., Hayes, J., Churchill, W. W., Lipsitz, S., Whittemore, A. D., Bates, D. W., & Gandhi, T. K. (2010). Effect of bar-code technology on the safety of medication administration. New England Journal of Medicine, 362(18), 1698-1707. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa0907115
Reading the DNP 715 Module 5 assignment instructions
The posted syllabus describes Individual Assignment 2 as evidence-based recommendations for improvement, based on the assessment in Assignment 1, presented in SBAR format. Together the two individual assignments carry 200 points. Expect to address the problem you identified in your first paper, recommend specific improvements supported by evidence, and organize the paper as situation, background, assessment and recommendation. Write for a real decision maker in your organization, such as a director or committee. Canvas may set a page limit, and SBARs are meant to be brief, so prioritize. Address any feedback from Assignment 1 before you start. Keep the recommendations to a number a leader can act on, usually three to five, and put the most important first.
How the DNP 715 Module 5 example is put together
Each SBAR section does one job. The situation states the problem in two sentences with numbers. The background summarizes evidence and local causes from the first assignment. The assessment interprets the problem as a system issue and explains why SBAR suits the request. Recommendations sit in a table that ties each fix to a cause, an owner and a measure, which makes the plan easy to approve and to follow up. An evaluation section adds direct observation, and the paper ends with a specific request for a time-limited pilot. Every recommendation in the table traces back to a cause named in the first assignment, so the reader can see why each fix was chosen.
DNP 715 Module 5 rubric: what earns full marks
An SBAR paper earns its points through a correct SBAR structure, clear connection to the first assignment's assessment, evidence-based and specific recommendations, feasibility, an evaluation plan and concise professional writing. Faculty look for recommendations that address causes rather than symptoms. Assigning owners and measures shows implementation thinking. A clear request at the end makes the SBAR actionable. Citing evidence for both the problem and the solution shows scholarship. Brevity is part of the format; padding weakens an SBAR. SBARs that end with a time-limited request, such as a pilot, are easier to approve and tend to score well because they show realistic thinking.
DNP 715 Module 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
SBARs often bury the request in the last paragraph or omit it. State exactly what you want approved. Another weakness is recommendations that do not match the causes you identified; map each fix to a cause. Keep the situation to two or three sentences. Use a table for recommendations. If you would like help writing your SBAR recommendations, send your first assignment and any feedback to the desk. Share the draft with someone in the role you are writing to, if possible, and ask whether they could approve it as written. Time yourself reading the SBAR aloud; more than two minutes means cutting, starting with background detail the reader already knows.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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DNP 715 Module 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DNP 715 Module 5 sample paper?
The SBAR recommendations above are complete: barcode scanning workarounds framed as situation, background, assessment and recommendations, with owners, measures and a pilot request.
What format does DNP 715 Individual Assignment 2 use?
SBAR: situation, background, assessment and recommendation.
What is SBAR?
A structured communication format that gives a shared, concise picture of a problem and a clear request.
How do I make SBAR recommendations evidence-based?
Link each recommendation to a cause identified in your assessment and to published evidence or guidance.
Should an SBAR include measures?
Yes. Naming how you will measure success makes the recommendations easier to approve and evaluate.