Many bedside nurses say virtual nursing programs have not eased their workload, though a slight majority have seen benefits to patient care when working alongside virtual nurses, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia.
Researchers at Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research surveyed nearly 900 in-hospital nurses across 10 states to understand how virtual nursing programs affect workloads and quality of patient care. The survey was conducted from December 2023 to March 2024.
Here are five key findings from the study, published Dec. 5 in JAMA Network Open:
- Fifty-seven percent of bedside nurses reported that working with virtual nurses did not reduce their workload. Among this group, 10% said virtual nurses increased their workload.
- Fifty-three percent of respondents said working alongside virtual nurses improved quality of care, though only 11% reported quality improved by “a lot.”
- Bedside nurses cited patient observation, admission and discharge activities, and patient education as the top uses of virtual nursing.
- In-person nurses identified virtual nursing’s strengths as monitoring and documentation, addressing staffing limitations, mitigating patient distrust and improving workflow inefficiencies.
- Taken together, the findings suggest hospital leaders should carefully evaluate virtual nursing models before broad implementation. While virtual nurses may ease administrative burdens in some cases, study authors say the programs are unlikely to meaningfully improve workload or care quality without sufficient bedside staffing and clearly defined roles.
“The data is mixed as to whether virtual nursing programs offer relief to in-hospital nurses and enhance the quality of patient care, which suggests hospitals should proceed cautiously in the absence of strong evidence about whether and under which conditions virtual nursing programs are safe and effective,” Karen Lasater, PhD, RN, study co-author and associate professor of nursing at Penn Nursing, said in a news release.
“While there is mixed evidence about the value of virtual nursing programs, there is strong evidence that staffing more nurses at the bedside is linked to better outcomes for patients and nurses alike,” Dr. Lasater added.
