The SOAP Note and the SBAR Chart - Essay Example

The SOAP and the SBAR Chart The SOAP and SBAR charts are media of communication in the medical profession. These are effective models in relaying information about a particular patient. These charts are especially crucial in emergency situations where the proper relaying of information could mean the difference between life and death. SOAP stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. Technically, a SOAP note is a communication model and documentation method used by health care practitioners.

It includes the details that other people are saying about the patient, the actual observations made by the attending practitioner, the practitioner’s assessment of the situation, and what the practitioner did about the situation and how he / she went about doing it (Pettker and Funai). SOAP notes may sometimes be considered as redundant because it notes two observations (the attending health practitioner’s and someone else’s), and sometimes these two observations are actually the same.

However, the SOAP note is quite important because the information passed on to the attending health practitioner may be different from the information that the health care practitioner actually gathers from personal observation. On the other hand, SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation. The SBAR model is used in relaying patient’s information to a new person. Especially in emergency cases, information will be passed from one point to another and it is important that this information is as accurate as possible (Hunt).

The information that the SBAR chart contains includes information about the current situation with the patient. It is followed by the patient’s medical history and a presentation of important findings. Then the attending health practitioner should assess the possible factors that require medical attention. Finally, the health practitioner should note down the medical intervention that must be provided to the patient. Just like the SOAP note, the SBAR chart also gathers and relays relevant information (Payne).

However, the SBAR chart no longer uses subjective information. Thus, there is no redundancy of information. Despite the fact that the SOAP note may present itself as a redundant method of communication and source of information, it is just as important as the SBAR chart because oftentimes, what other people observe are different from what the attending health care professional observes. References Hunt, Ed. "ICS, SBAR, SOAP, CUS? Medical Communications." 20 May 2010. Redtriage. 21 February 2011 .

Payne, Lorene. The nursing students guide to clinical success. Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2010. Pettker, Christian and Edmund Funai. "Managing obstetric risk; Is your labor and delivery team ready?" 1 February 2011. Modern Medicine. 2011 February 21 .