Rutgers School of Nursing is integrating virtual care into its curriculum, enabling nursing students to learn new workflows that support bedside teams remotely. The program blends classroom instruction with hands-on simulation, allowing learners to practice remote assessment techniques before they encounter real patients. Virtual nursing can help identify fall risks, recognize patient deterioration, and alert onsite staff when an intervention is needed.
According to Starkweather, virtual nursing is a tool that nurses can depend on to supplement their care and add layers of safety and quality. However, nursing students must learn more than just how to operate cameras and software.
They need to understand clear communication with remote colleagues and when to escalate concerns. Nurses must also explain monitoring technology to patients and families who may be uncomfortable with cameras or sensors in the room. Effective dialogue ensures that remote observations translate into timely bedside actions.
Starkweather emphasizes that nurses are grounded in patient relationships and must help patients understand the technology. Training must address privacy, confidentiality, and ethics alongside technical troubleshooting.
Caregility is providing the university with seven wall-mounted systems equipped with high-zoom cameras, microphones, speakers, infrared lighting, and video monitors. These systems will be used for simulation training, allowing learners to practice virtual nursing workflows without putting patients at risk.
Simulation training enables learners to assess wounds, show them remotely to caregivers, and explain how to manage them after discharge. The exercises can also recreate escalation and technology failures that may be difficult to predict during classroom instruction.
