Situation awareness refers to the degree to which perception matches reality. This narrative review explored how situation awareness has been defined and studied in healthcare, with a particular focus on nursing. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) individual, team and systems perspectives of situation awareness; (2) situation awareness and patient safety, and (3) communication tools, technologies and education to support situation awareness. The authors note that future research should reflect nurse’s work and the constrictions imposed on situation awareness by the demands of busy impatient wards.