Nearly every bedside nurse has had a similar experience: They sense that something is changing with a patient, but they can’t quite put their finger on it because it’s not showing up yet on the bedside monitor.
In those uncertain moments, having an experienced virtual nurse to turn to can be a lifesaver — literally. Experienced virtual nurses can help translate bedside nurses’ observations and instincts into identified next steps to determine if further assessment or escalation is needed.
Of course, patients benefit too. The collaboration between bedside and virtual nurses often results in earlier provider escalation and better outcomes. Here’s how.
The Early Signs Bedside Nurses Notice First
Quantitative data and lab values are important, but bedside nurses can observe subtle clinical patterns that don’t always show up on paper. They might notice behavior changes, restlessness, unusual fatigue or confusion. It also just might be that something seems off.
Research indicates that this context is often clinically valuable and can improve patient safety. “The bedside will call and say, ‘Something’s just not right. Nothing’s exactly different right now, but something’s not the same.’ It’s a feeling,” says Hicuity Health Virtual Nurse, Amber Craft. “Hicuity virtual nurses jump in and help sort through the situation, ‘What have we done? What should we do? All right, let’s get our provider on this.’ We’re there to give them support and lend our experience to make the unknown a little less stressful for bedside nurses.”
This can lead to more proactive care patterns, reduced overnight deterioration, and earlier interventions.
How Virtual Nurses Turn Instinct Into Action
While bedside nurses’ observations can help improve outcomes, experienced virtual nurses are especially skilled at operationalizing them. This can vary from team to team, but the process typically looks something like this:
- Conduct a Joint Review of What’s Changed
After a bedside nurse tells their virtual nursing partner that something appears to be wrong, the two review the patient’s labs, vitals trends, medications, and recent procedures. The virtual nurse acts as a second set of eyes. “Sometimes things change, even subtly, and you see it before other symptoms happen. You can just tell,” Craft says. “We can validate [this].” - Identify What Could Be Missing
“We have a ton of experience and we’ve been through a lot,” says David Arrington, a fellow Hicuity Health Virtual Nurse. This makes him, and other Hicuity Health virtual nurses, the perfect partners to help identify things like meaningful changes in oxygen use, slight trends in heart rate, or subtle mental status changes that don’t yet meet alerting threshold criteria.
- Prepare the Provider with Context
Once virtual and bedside nurses have identified the potential issue, the virtual nurse can package the situation clearly for the on-call provider. While the bedside nurse is doing rounds, the virtual nurse can explain the situation, share supporting details, and discuss concerns regarding potential deterioration with the provider. - Address Issues Sooner
More complete context can lead to faster action and fewer escalations becoming emergencies. Prompt collaboration between bedside and virtual nurses, a logical approach to investigating the situation, and clear concise communication to the provider enables the provider to readily further direct patient care.
Nursing teams may also be able to collaborate with virtual providers, like Hicuity’s, for even faster intervention. “When I was at the bedside, I worked in a larger hospital in the Memphis area, and we had one bedside intensivist round for us. If he was somewhere else, you had to rely on your fellow nurses until he could get to you,” Craft recalls. “Telehealth has been a big benefit for the smaller hospitals especially, because virtual providers are right there – nurses can quickly escalate to them, they can get to patients and intervene faster, and help through emergency situations – which is better for the patients and just a more efficient process.”
Why Nights Benefit Most from This Partnership
Night nurses especially benefit from this partnership. Because there are fewer rounding clinicians and less immediate peer support, it’s common for night nurses to feel self-conscious about escalating issues or doubt their intuition.
Experienced virtual nurses help fill that gap. They’re always available, never rushed, and won’t dismiss a question outright. “A lot of us went into nursing to care for people, so in this role, we’re not only helping take care of the patients, but we’re also taking care of those nurses too,” Craft said.
Contact Hicuity
If you’re exploring ways to support your bedside nurses, especially at night, the Hicuity team can walk you through what this virtual nursing workflow looks like in practice. Reach out to learn how we partner with bedside teams when instincts strike before the vitals do.
