The American Journal of Nursing (AJN)Initiating Virtual Nursing in General Inpatient Care

Nurses, let’s dive right into this fascinating development in the field. Picture this: as the demand for inpatient care skyrockets, and nursing resources become stretched, finding an experienced nurse for mentorship has become a real challenge. But what if you could get that mentorship right when you need it, from a virtual source?

Introducing the groundbreaking concept of the Virtual RN, or ViRN. Created to bolster support for both you, our invaluable bedside RNs, and the patients in designated general care inpatient units, the ViRN is changing how we operate. This role provides real-time virtual clinical guidance to you at the bedside, while also actively monitoring patients. Imagine the possibilities!

Now, you might be wondering, how do nurses feel about this integration of ViRNs into our nursing care team? Well, a recent survey sent out via email to bedside RNs gives us some insightful answers. It turns out that RNs are valuing the consistent availability of the ViRN’s expert nursing knowledge and virtual assistance with nursing tasks.