The 2025 Virtual Nursing Mastermind program is well underway as participants brainstorm the future and potential of virtual nursing.
As healthcare technologies progress, virtual nursing is becoming the standard of care throughout health systems across the country.
In systems big and small, nurse and innovation leaders are making strides to integrate technology into nursing in ways that will benefit nurses, patients, and their families, while remaining cost effective.
The HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind is now in its second year of the program. The participating health systems are meeting this week, from March 17-18, in Atlanta to discuss how far they've come in their virtual nursing programs and where they are going next.
Where it started
In 2024, according to the program final report, the goals of each health system were to improve the nursing workflows on a broader scale, and to address workforce shortages and burnout. Nurses are heavily burdened with administrative tasks that take away time spent with their patients, and virtual nursing can help remove many of those tasks.
According to the program survey last year, 72 % of the health systems reporting being in the early (36%) to mid-stages (36%) of their virtual nursing journeys, with only 27 % reporting being in the mature stage. The early stage is when a program is still in ideation and testing, the mid-stage is when there is some adoption and promising outcomes, and program maturity is reached when a program is becoming systemwide.
For most of the participants (91%) in 2024, virtual nursing had an impact on their medical surgical departments, followed by the ICU (64%), behavioral (18%) and chronic care (18%) departments, outpatient (9%), rehab (9%), and ED/follow up (9%).
The response was overwhelmingly positive from staff, patients, and leadership. While 89% of the participants reported less than 5% of the nursing budget being attributed to virtual nursing, 80 % of participants also reported they expect their health systems’ virtual nursing labor budget to increase between 10% and 25% over the next three years.
Where it's going
This year, many of the returning participants as well as the new health systems in the program are much further along in their virtual nursing journeys. While many began with carts, several have moved toward in-room technology with built-in cameras and televisions. The goal now is to consolidate technology to optimize the experience for both nurses and patients.
AI has a bright future in virtual care. The participants what to incorporate ambient listening technology into patient rooms for verbal documentation and, where possible, into the electronic medical record (EMR). AI has the potential to optimize tasks, such as searching for information in the EMR.
The participants also have plans to expand virtual care technology beyond just med surge units and nursing. Many want to expand into the emergency department, which has several roadblocks, as well as acute care at home programs. For the virtual nurses themselves, several organizations want to make working from home a viable option, rather than having all the virtual nurses in a centralized location.
There is much more to come from the 2025 Virtual Nursing Mastermind program, so stay tuned for more coverage.
The HealthLeaders Mastermind series is an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives focusing on pain points that matter most to you. This Virtual Nursing Mastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights into excelling your virtual nursing program.
To inquire about participating in an upcoming Mastermind series or attending a HealthLeaders Exchange event, email us at anorris@healthleadersmedia.com.
Nurse leaders need to focus on getting nurses engaged early in their careers, according to this CNO.
Dr. Amanda B. Shrout is a seasoned nursing executive with extensive expertise in clinical care, evidence-based practice, and leadership.
With a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Ohio State University, Dr. Shrout has led efforts to improve nursing outcomes through evidence-based initiatives, policy development, and a collaborative leadership style.
In the nearly 10 years she has been a part of the team at LifeBridge Health, Shrout has taken on roles of increasing responsibility, including clinical nurse specialist, director of clinical excellence, director of emergency departments and observation, and most recently, interim chief nursing officer.
Now, Shrout serves as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Sinai Hospital & Grace Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she has driven significant advancements in patient care and nursing leadership.
On our latest installment of The Exec, HealthLeaders sat down with Shrout to discuss her journey into nursing, and her thoughts on trends in the nursing industry. Tune in to hear her insights.
CNOs and other nurse leaders should be aware of these two pieces of legislation.
So far, 2025 has been a year of chaos for healthcare.
The future of the industry seems uncertain, with large clinical staff strikes and a federal administration that pushes new executive orders on a daily basis.
Now more than ever, it's critical that CNOs and other nurse leaders get involved and advocate for nursing policy. Recently, two bills have come to the forefront: the PRECEPT Nurses Act, and the I CAN Act.
The PRECEPT Nurses Act
The Providing Real-World Education and Clinical Experience by Precepting Tomorrow’s (PRECEPT) Nurses Act is a bipartisan bill introduced by Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02), and it seeks to provide a $2,000 tax credit for nurses who serve as clinical preceptors to nursing students, according to a press release. The goal is to address the nursing shortage by increasing the amount of nursing students who can complete their clinical training under nurse preceptors.
“Mentors are the backbone of nurturing talent and shaping the workforce of tomorrow, and in nursing, preceptors fulfill this essential role,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, in the press release. “The PRECEPT Nurses Act is an important step in recognizing the invaluable contributions of nurse preceptors and ensuring they have the support needed to address critical workforce shortages, particularly in underserved areas.
The I CAN Act
The Improving Care and Access to Nurses (I CAN) Act is another bipartisan bill that would remove the federal barriers in Medicare and Medicaid programs that stop APRNs from practicing to the full extent of their clinical education and training, according to another press release. Representatives Dave Joyce (OH-14), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jen Kiggans (VA-02), and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the bill with the goal of increasing patient access to healthcare while lowering costs and improving quality.
“The reintroduction of this bill is a critical step toward expanding health care access across the country," Mensik Kennedy said in the press release. "By removing outdated barriers, it empowers APRNs to provide the care they are trained for—especially in rural and underserved communities where they are often the primary providers."
Here is what CNOs need to know about these two bills.
Preventing workplace violence takes a collaborative effort, says this CNO.
On this episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Linsey Paul, CNO for the Mercy Health Lima Market, about how CNOs can strategize to prevent workplace violence. Tune in to hear her insights.
Virtual nursing is becoming the standard of care, and nurse leaders must prepare for the next evolution.
In the latest edition of HealthLeaders' The Winning Edge webinar series, a panel of nurse leaders discussed what additional technologies can be integrated into your virtual nursing program, and how to optimize it to best support the bedside nurse and be cost effective.
The discussion included four key takeaways: how to individualize the program for the needs of your health system, get nurses involved, choose the right technology, and make the financial case with ROI metrics.
While health systems might be at different stages of implementation, there are several key virtual nursing strategies that CNOs should take into consideration.
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.
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 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.
Some common goals for virtual nursing include reducing time spent completing administrative tasks such as admissions and discharges, and giving time back to bedside nurses. During a time when nursing shortages are growing, and patient acuity is greater, it's essential that unnecessary tasks and high workload burdens be removed from nurses so they can spend their time caring for patients.
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.
Choose the right technology
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.
Other metrics can include nurse engagement, patient experience, and care quality metrics. Patient outcome metrics, such as fall prevention, can also be impacted by virtual nursing, especially with the incorporation of additional technologies. Improving patient outcomes helps reduce costs from negative outcomes.
At nine years old, following a major car accident, Paul recalls the nurse who helped her understand what was happening to her family. It was that emergency department nurse who inspired Paul to go on to become a nurse, and now, a nurse leader.
Paul earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kent State University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University. Paul then served at Mercy Health St. Rita’s Medical Center in leadership roles and as a frontline nurse in the emergency department.
During the last 11 years, she has served as an acute care and operations director in Mercy Health’s Springfield market, and as patient services operations and ROC director in Mercy Health’s Lima market. Most recently, Paul served as the assistant chief nursing officer for Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center.
In August 2024, Paul stepped into the CNO role for the Mercy Health Lima Market, where she is responsible for overseeing the delivery of nursing operations for the market, which includes oversight of bedside care, nursing quality, and nursing practices for Mercy Health Lima.
On our latest installment of The Exec, HealthLeaders sat down with Paul to discuss her journey into nursing, and her thoughts on trends in the nursing industry. Tune in to hear her insights.
Professional practice models enable health systems to elevate nursing education, practice, and outcomes, says this CNE.
Organizations often have to endure cultural shifts as well as workforce changes, so it's critical that CNOs are able to guide nurses and provide resources to help them adjust accordingly.
Stefanie Beavers, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, chief nurse executive at OU Health, and HealthLeaders Exchange member, recognized the need for resources during OU Health's cultural transformation, which occurred as the organization leaned into its identity as an academic health system.
"I learned very quickly as we walked through, what are the resources for our teams?" Beavers said. "How do we organize within the nursing workforce from the lens of nursing excellence, and what's the definition of nursing excellence?"
The solution, for Beavers, was a professional practice model.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.
The 'future' of virtual nursing is here, and nurse leaders must prepare for the next evolution.
Healthcare is constantly changing as new waves of innovation become harder and harder to keep up with. While many health systems are already far along on their virtual nursing journeys, many are still just testing the waters.
Virtual nursing enables health systems to uplift the nursing practice in ways that, until now, were not possible. The invention and integration of virtual care technology gives time back to bedside nurses by removing administrative burdens and streamlining admissions and discharges.
Virtual nurses can take on documentation and spend uninterrupted time with patients, while bedside nurses spend more hands-on time caring for them. Virtual nursing also gives nurses flexible scheduling options, which can be especially beneficial to nurses who have physical limitations or who are burnt out and need a break.
Progress so far
Virtual nursing has come a long way since its inception, and its takeoff in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many health systems started with the "quick and dirty" approach, with just a few iPads and carts, or whatever they had available at the time. Nowadays, many systems are fully outfitted with complete audio and video setups, with integrated built-in cameras and permanent TV monitors.
Steve Klahn, system clinical director for virtual medicine at Houston Methodist, previously told HealthLeaders that within the next five to 10 years, 60% to 70% of nursing positions across the industry will likely 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."
Klahn explained that this is largely due to the response to virtual nursing programs.
"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."
However, not all health systems have the same bandwidth for investment in virtual nursing. Smaller hospitals and rural health systems often have budget limitations that can make implementing new technologies more difficult.
CNOs and other nurse leaders have an important opportunity to brainstorm ways for health systems with those limitations to implement virtual nursing so that their patients and staff can see the same benefits.
What comes next?
As the nursing workforce continues to evolve, health systems must try and keep up with the latest technological trends to keep patient care innovative and efficient. Virtual nursing offers health systems a way to bridge staffing gaps and bring care workflows to the next level.
The next webinar in our Winning Edge series will explore what additional technologies can be integrated into your virtual nursing program, and how to optimize it to best support the bedside nurse and be cost effective.
