A workforce model in which a hospital or health system hires or contracts with experienced nurses to work remotely to help in-person nurses with administrative tasks such as processing hospital admissions and discharges, reviewing medication lists for accuracy, creating documentation and educating patients. The remote nurses can communicate with patients and hospital personnel on site through two-way cameras and microphones stationed in patient rooms.
Virtual nursing is being explored and adopted by health systems in response to a looming nursing shortage. This model frees up nurses working on the floors to focus on direct patient care, while virtual nurses also can participate in patient rounds with in-person teams or answer patient questions as they arise. Some virtual nursing pilot programs have improved nurse and patient satisfaction ratings, decreased overtime and decreased turnover.