TogetherTeam Virtual Connected Care ™
An innovative model of care
Virtual Connected Care™, a transformational care model that starts with a three-person team:
- Direct Care RN – provides direct patient care support at the bedside. This role provides traditional bedside nursing care, giving colleagues valuable experience, more time with patients and families and on-demand support from the entire care team. Nurses beginning their career benefit from support and mentoring from our experienced virtual RNs.
- Care Partner (NA, CAN or LPN/LVN) – partners with bedside RN and virtual RN to provide exceptional care for patients. This role is an important part of our innovative care model and provides a path to career advancement for colleagues.
- Virtual RN – a key part of our innovative care model, the vRN uses technology to support direct care staff and increase patient interaction. The vRN brings expertise to perform detailed examinations and coordinate complex care. This is an ideal position for experienced RNs who want to mentor and support direct care nursing, while enjoying a less physically demanding role. Virtual RNs are local Saint Joseph Health System colleagues who work primarily onsite at one of our facilities.
Benefits of Virtual Connected Care:
- Added patient safety and satisfaction.
- Improved nursing expertise and mentoring of direct care nurses at the bedside.
- Meets caregivers where they are in their career and provides advancement opportunities,
- Clearly defined roles/responsibilities to ensure each colleague is working at the top of their licensure as frequently as possible.
- Offers a stable, predictable working environment.
- Builds a pipeline of caregivers to ensure we have enough caregivers to care for those who need us in our communities now and in the future. This is a critical step, as today’s unstable and unpredictable workforce is not sustainable. The national shortage of RNs will be as much as 1.1 million by the end of 2022 (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
St. Joe’s locations offering Virtual RN opportunities include:
- Mishawaka
Nursing duties of the onsite Virtual RN include but are not limited to:
- Virtual safety rounds
- Detailed physical examinations using technology
- Responding to patient calls
- Patient education
- Collaboration on discharge planning with the case management staff
Qualifications of a Virtual RN:
- Active RN license and a minimum of 8 years of experience as an RN.
- Experience must include adult acute care and working with an electronic health record.
- Ability to work in a virtual nurse hub within the hospital or other designated site.
- The vRN communicates with the bedside team through the phone system, secure messaging, and use of the call light system when in a room.
- A vRN will only work as a vRN and will not be pulled to work as a direct care RN. It is possible that direct care RNs will cross train to the vRN role.