Student icebreakers are a necessary component in social-emotional learning. Interactive icebreaker introductions foster an environment that promotes character development, teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and goal setting to create a sense of community and model effective communication.1 During an on-campus simulation experience for Family Nurse Practitioner students, a small class of peers were paired in dyads and asked to collect data and gather a history on each other. A PowerPoint slide was created and shared as a template on which to elicit student thinking. Items on the PowerPoint slide included name, achievements, work experience, scholarship, hobbies, and education. Supplemental Digital Content, Figure 1 available at http://links.lww.com/NE/B201, is an example of the PowerPoint slide shared with students. After gathering data on each other, students were then asked to organize and present collected information in the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) format. Goal-directed learning principles created a positive and meaningful learning experience for students. Faculty indicated the introduction of SBAR as a part of an icebreaker to model effective communication among nurses built on previous learning and enabled professionalism, inclusivity, respect, positive communication, and mutual support.

Reference