Virtual Nursing Will Be Nonnegotiable: Here’s How CNOs Can Prepare

Virtual nursing has spread far and wide throughout health systems across the country as it becomes a critical component of patient care, and it’s gaining buy-in from nurse leaders everywhere.

According to a recent report, a majority of CNOs believe that virtual nursing will become essential to acute patient care delivery models, and 38% have already implemented virtual nursing or are currently in the process of doing so.

While health systems might have different approaches or be at different stages of implementation, there are several common virtual nursing strategies that CNOs should take into consideration.

The Winning Edge for Recruiting the Best Nurses webinar included four experts on the subject: Catherine Hughes, senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Virtua Health; Sandy Alexander, associate nursing officer at Vanderbilt Health; Jennie Van Antwerp, director of digital acute care at OSF OnCall, and Dr. Christine Gall, DrPH, MS, BSN, chief nursing officer at Collette Health.

The panel discussion included four key points about virtual nursing strategy.

Individualize the program

First and foremost, virtual nursing programs should be individualized to fit the needs of a health system. CNOs can begin this process by identifying the problems that the program will work to address, and narrowing down the specific needs of the nurses, patients, and other staff who will be impacted by the program.

Virtual nursing can offer an avenue for nurses who want to retire or who can’t work at the bedside anymore to continue sharing their knowledge and participating in care delivery. Those nurses can then mentor novice nurses as well.

Get nurses involved

The first half of the equation with virtual nursing is the nursing workforce, and getting nurse buy-in is essential. While there might be caution surrounding virtual nursing and its implications, it’s up to the CNO to show the positive benefits on both staffing and patients and to bring the nurses into the conversation.

Nurses are well equipped to give the best feedback about workflows and input on what they need to make their jobs easier. Nurses can also help get the word out quickly about new programs, which can greatly help with program adoption, and they can help with testing and troubleshooting. It’s important that CNOs listen to the needs of the nurses and work with them to implement the best solutions.

The second half of the equation is the virtual nursing technology itself. Determining the right technology for a virtual nursing program begins with having a strong partnership with IT departments and innovation leaders. That partnership creates a strong feedback loop where nurses can help the IT project managers understand what needs to be done, and the IT department can work towards achieving those goals. CNOs should also lean heavily on their CNIOs, since they are able to blend nursing and technology together to come up with the best outcomes.

When selecting what technology to use, CNOs should pilot different technologies and give themselves plenty of time to test things with the understanding that it might not work the first time. The beginning stage of any virtual nursing program offers tremendous learning opportunities. Choosing between carts or fixed, in-room technology will depend heavily on the needs of the department, the nursing unit, and the patients and staff involved.

Make the case

Lastly, CNOs must be able to make a financial case for virtual nursing. This can be difficult because many virtual nursing ROI metrics are considered “soft” metrics, that save “soft dollars.” However, there are several concrete metrics that CNOs can look at for positive outcomes, such as reduced admission and discharge times, and better recruitment and retention numbers. Improving discharge information and discharge planning can help reduce readmissions as well.

This webinar was sponsored by Collette Health.