A robust virtual nursing program should be created with long-term goals in mind, says this CNE.
Virtual nursing is rapidly becoming a standard of care in the healthcare industry.
Right now, while many programs are still in their infancy, CNOs have a great opportunity to learn from each other's strategies and outcomes.
For Patty Donley, senior vice president and CNE at WellSpan Health, the original goal of WellSpan's virtual nursing program was twofold. First and foremost, Donley emphasized the workforce shortage and planning for when the baby boomer generation retires.
"We'll likely need more care at the same time that our baby boomer nursing and healthcare professionals are retiring," Donley said.
Donley explained that as nurses retire, the rate at which they will retire is predicted to be greater than the rate of those entering the profession.
"That combined with that increase in the number of aging adults will likely create a supply and demand issue," Donley said. "We're really trying to look ahead and determine how [to] plan for what likely will become an even greater shortage moving forward."
Additionally, WellSpan is considering how to support nurses with their current workload and how to do that in an innovative way that provides greater satisfaction for bedside nurses, Donley said. The health system is also interested in leveraging the knowledge of experienced nurses to help support newer generations of nurses.
Developing the strategy
According to Donley, developing the virtual nursing program, which has been in place since 2023, began by looking at it from a cross-functional perspective.
"We knew what we were looking to accomplish, but doing it in such a way that we pulled in our IT colleagues," Donley said.
WellSpan’s innovation and design teams also got involved with the project. According to Donley, the next step was to create a governance structure that leveraged executive leadership who had the vision, a budget, and a timeline, and a committee of clinical leaders and team members who provided insights on the program’s impact. The technical team also was present to look at all the technical components that needed to be considered.
"I think that's what made us successful and particularly engaging frontline nurses from the beginning was integral to our ability to be where we are today," Donley said. "I think that listening and gaining their insights and input into how we did it initially helped us to build a platform and to create a virtual care model that worked for our nurses."
Donley also emphasized the importance of messaging when starting a virtual nursing program.
"The other thing we started at the very beginning was to message that the virtual care nurse was not meant to replace nurses, but to support them," Donley said.
Looking to the next generation
In terms of looking to the future, while there are no new grads currently working in WellSpan's virtual nursing program, Donley says they have taken Gen Z nurses into consideration for their strategy.
"We're looking to partner with…our colleges and universities to introduce the technology while the nurses are in nursing school so that they can be prepared if potentially that's an area that they're interested in," Donley said.
The goal would be to get new graduate nurses familiar with the technology to equip them for the future of their careers.
"Introducing that technology and the platform and how it's done early on in a person's career might help to eventually move in that direction," Donley said.
In the future, WellSpan plans to continue reducing administrative tasks and unnecessary burdens at the bedside. Donley says they are looking into ambient listening and how to leverage their virtual nursing platform for documentation. The health system is also looking at different efficiencies in sites of care like the operating room and where the virtual care platform and their chosen vendor platform, Artisight, can help capture different documentation pieces.
"That's exactly the position we want to be in as we continue to talk to our frontline nurses and team members, to say, 'how else can we support you?'" Donley said.
Donley recommends having a long-term mindset when strategizing for virtual nursing. Engaging the frontline teams and celebrating milestones and successes are also key for CNOs and other leadership.
"You might start small, you might start with doing admissions or something like that, but think about a platform that's going to take you to the next level and that might be able to solve some future challenges.”
G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
WellSpan Health created its virtual nursing program to address workforce shortages and to plan for the gaps that will be left behind as seasoned nurses retire.
CNOs should create a governance structure that leverages executive leadership and a committee of clinical leaders and team members who can provide insight into the virtual care program's impact.
Health systems should partner with educational institutions to implement virtual nursing training in nursing schools.