Virtual Nursing is Here

Shared from HealthLeaders article from THIS LINK

Nurses are feeling overworked and burned out, and there are not enough nurses to fill the gaps left by those leaving the industry. This means your hospital halls will soon be empty, but not for the reason you think. Your nursing staff will be virtual.

Many organizations are turning to virtual nursing to address staffing and wellbeing, and with the current trajectory virtual care will be an integral part of the future of healthcare.

So, while your rooms won’t be completely devoid of in-person nurses, soon an entire department of onsite clinical staff will be a thing of the past.

Here’s how to adapt and advance.

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. 

• Within the next five to 10 years, more than half of all nursing positions could be entirely virtual or have some kind of virtual component, which will only expand thereafter.
• Care delivery models will have virtual nursing fully integrated and will involve support from remote nurses and new ways of collecting patient information. 
• Virtual nursing has the potential to impact staffing by eliminating contract labor and serving as a flexible scheduling and education tool for both new nurses and tenured nurses. 

Read the full article HERE