CommonSpirit’s Virtually Integrated Care^sm (VIC) model spans three regions, 10 hospitals, and a team of over 248 VIC RNs, delivering high-quality, collaborative inpatient care alongside bedside teams through an innovative virtual team care approach. This model has demonstrated the value of experienced nurses integrated remotely into the hospital setting, a contribution now formally recognized as a specialty by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) through the Certified Acute-Care Virtual Registered Nurse (CAVRN) credential, launched in 2024. Two VIC RNs with the care transformation team supported this initiative through beta testing.

Inspired by this recognition, the nursing care transformation team developed a supportive pathway to help VIC RNs achieve this new specialty certification. We set a bold goal: 25% of our eligible VIC nurses certified by the end of FY25. Eligibility requires serving in the nursing specialty for a minimum of 1,000 patient care hours.

To make this goal achievable, we surveyed our teams, provided clear guidance on the certification process, and built comprehensive study resources aligned with AMSN’s and MSNCB’s content, including practice questions, flashcards, and interactive Zoom trivia sessions. These engaging study groups connected nurses across regions, building community while boosting confidence and readiness for the exam.

To date, 58 of our VIC nurses are now proudly CAVRN certified, strengthening our commitment to advancing nursing practice and shaping the future of virtual inpatient care.

Empowering Virtual Nurses: A Pathway to CAVRN Certification

Virtual nursing has evolved over the course of the past decade as the demand for community care has outweighed the skilled clinicians available to provide care in the hospital setting. The role of the virtual nurse has demonstrated the value of team care models through the integration of an experienced nurse remotely into patient care settings. As this role has continued to demonstrate an effective transformation of care delivery, a new specialty of nursing was recognized. MSNCB acknowledged this new specialty and began development of its certification program. MSNCB opened their CAVRN program to beta testing in spring of 2024. Two members of the CommonSpirit care transformation team participated in the beta testing program. This experience motivated their desire to further elevate the professional practice of the Virtually Integrated Care^sm RNs through the certification program.

The nursing care transformation team developed a comprehensive and supportive study program for their team of virtual nurses to help them achieve the newly introduced CAVRN certification. They recognized that many of the virtual nurses were eligible but may be unaware of this certification and its potential benefits.

We set a goal to have 25% of our CommonSpirit VIC RN team certified by the end of FY25. To gauge interest within our local teams, we created a Google form. The form was distributed, and based on the responses received, we developed various study options to support their certification.

Our materials were directly sourced from the MSNCB-provided content outline. This included the seven domains and the journal articles that the test questions are based on, creating a solid foundation for preparing the virtual nurses for the exam. We then divided the journal articles according to the seven domains to ensure that the study materials were aligned with the specific content areas of the exam. Our goal was to help the virtual nurses focus on each domain individually, making their study sessions more targeted and manageable. We divided the articles among us, read each article, and created relevant multiple choice and true or false questions.

We started with an informational Zoom session with the virtual nurses to outline how to sign up, the testing process, and the cost. This approach ensured the virtual nurses were well prepared not only for the study material but also for navigating the certification process itself. From there, we designed a study guide including flashcards based on the journal articles for the virtual nurses to use during self-guided study.

To make studying more engaging, we created an interactive trivia game focused on questions derived from the journal article. The study sessions were held over Zoom, where we added music to create a fun atmosphere and used the annotate feature during our trivia game. The game included multiple choice and true or false questions to engage the team. We set a timer for each round, and nurses selected what they thought was the correct answer. After each question, we reviewed the rationale behind the correct answers as well as citing the journal article the question was derived from. These sessions not only supported exam preparation but also fostered a collaborative and encouraging environment, helping the virtual team feel more confident and ready for the test.

In addition, we created a shared Google Drive to centralize all the study materials for easy access. This drive included a variety of resources such as the test information, flashcards, trivia game, and journal articles, ensuring that nurses had everything they needed in one convenient location. By organizing all the materials in the shared drive, we made it simple for the nurses to review content at their own pace and refer to resources whenever necessary, giving them continuous support throughout their preparation.

These study sessions brought our virtual nurses together from across our team and the nation, creating a sense of unity and shared purpose despite the physical distance. It was inspiring to see them engage with one another, collaborate, and support each other throughout the process. Watching their progress was incredibly rewarding, and it was a lot of fun helping them learn, grow, and stay motivated as they worked toward achieving their certification.