Virtual Nursing Is Here, Whether You Like It or Not
By G Hatfield
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from a larger cover story, which can be found here.
2024 was a year for great innovation.
Health systems made great strides toward implementing new technologies into workflows, including AI, robotics, and wearables. Perhaps the biggest leap forward was made in the realm of virtual care, especially in nursing.
Back in August, HealthLeaders spoke with nurse leaders who are turning to virtual nursing to address staffing and wellbeing, and to learn how they will adapt and advance to this new technology.
The future is now
The use of telemedicine following the COVID-19 pandemic kick started the virtual nursing movement. And while some systems are just getting started, many have been utilizing virtual nursing for years and continue to expand.
In fact, according to Steve Klahn, system clinical director for virtual medicine at Houston Methodist, virtual nursing roles are about to expand exponentially. Klahn predicted that within the next five to 10 years, 60% to 70% of nursing positions across the industry will become virtual or have a virtual component.
“I’d say well over half,” Klahn said, “just with [the] massive growth and expansion over the last two years.”
“This is going to stick with us for a while,” Klahn said, “understandably so, because there’s such positive response to programs that are engaging a virtual component or fully virtual.”
Dr. Shakira Henderson, dean and chief administrative officer and associate vice president for nursing education, practice, and research at the University of Florida College of Nursing, and the system CNE of UF Health, said this strategy will transform the landscape of nursing by enhancing care and improving efficiency.
“One of the facts that struck me was that we are going to produce now the first generation of nurses who could potentially never touch a patient,” Henderson said.
Get ready for the new care model
Leaders must keep in mind that with every new wave of technology, there will be an adjustment period as the technology is integrated with workflows. That won’t be any different with virtual nursing.
Klahn said the standard care model for nursing will be highly comprehensive, due to the integration of virtual nursing. It will include both task-driven support from remote nurses and a new way of collecting biometric data.
Nurses will soon be able to monitor a wide variety of healthcare data including blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rates through remote patient monitoring, according to Klahn. The collected data can be automated and synthesized through a software system and delivered to the experienced clinical personnel that are remotely supporting bedside teams.
“Now you can actually have one or two nurses supporting a much larger group of patient populations,” Klahn said, “and truly load balancing and taking those calls as they come in and reducing the wait times for that process.”
G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.