Implementing a Virtual Discharge Nurse Pilot: Utilizing the Pathway to Excellence® Framework.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care Technology

Background:

• Increasing bedside nurse vacancies contribute to resource shortages.
• Nurses have reduced time for direct patient care due to administrative burdens.
• 77% of nurses spend over 3 hours per shift on admissions, discharges, and education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual nurse (VN) pilot program.
• To assess the VN's impact on administrative task completion and nurse workload.
• To determine the influence of the VN on patient and nurse satisfaction, turnover, and adverse events.

Main Methods:

• A pilot program was implemented on a 45-bed unit.
• The virtual nurse focused on remote assistance with patient discharges and education.
• Task completion, patient satisfaction, nurse satisfaction, turnover rates, and adverse events were monitored.

Main Results:

• The virtual nurse successfully completed 1375 administrative tasks during the pilot.
• Significant increases in both patient and nurse satisfaction were observed.
• Reductions in nurse turnover and adverse events were documented.

Conclusions:

• The virtual nurse pilot demonstrated early success in supporting bedside nurses.
• The VN role effectively alleviates administrative burdens and enhances care quality.
• Expansion of the virtual nurse program to additional units is planned based on positive outcomes.