Lerene Clinton got her first virtual nursing experience during a recent week-long stay at MercyOne in downtown Des Moines.A nurse operating from a call center-like office appeared on a screen in her room above her bed. Brad Jahner greeted Clinton and began talking her through being discharged. A tiny camera allowed him to look around the room and check the details. "It just seems unbelievable. ... It's amazing to me," Clinton said of the experience.MercyOne ventured into virtual nursing by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the hospital system has grown the program and incorporated it on a larger scale. KCCI got a behind-the-scenes look at how this works. The virtual nurses aren't replacing bedside nurses, says Jennifer Misajet, one of the nursing administrators for MercyOne. The goal is to have three-person teams: a virtual nurse, a bedside nurse and a patient care technician, all working together. Patient experienceLike many Iowans, Clinton grew up on an Iowa farm."We had cows. We had beef cattle. We had hogs. You know, back in my years, you had everything," she said. From a young age, she learned to handle a lot of new experiences like driving a tractor when she was 8. But when it comes to technology?"I do not like computers because they don't like me," Clinton said.Virtual nursing was strange at first, but she changed her mind pretty quickly. "They are very helpful in the whole operation of everything they do. Some work ahead a time that the doctor, nurses don't have to do. It brings it right down the line," Clinton said.'Good idea' from the pandemicWhat Clinton experienced in her recent hospital stay started during a stressful time in healthcare."It really did originate from the pandemic," said Misajet. "There was a physician here that was really concerned about how we were going to be able to deliver enough care to enough patients, and so they used the technology they had at the time. They really cobbled things together and said, 'This is a good idea.'"Some of the current and former MercyOne nurses who spoke to KCCI said the virtual nursing program helps in some situations -- but had its challenges, too.Related story: KCCI Investigates: MercyOne nurses worry about higher number of patients to care for"They're never hands-on. They get to do, I will say they get to do a lot, like they do chart our routine rounds. They chart most of those, I should say," said the unnamed nurse who spoke to KCCI. She asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her job. She added: "That helps quite a bit. But it also depends if you have virtual nurses available." Misajet said they have hired even more virtual nurses recently. But those virtual nurses need a different set of skills and even more experience. "They need to be engaging. They need to be able to feel comfortable interacting with the patient because, you know, it's very hard to be remote and develop that relationship," said Kelly Barker, the director of virtual nursing. The virtual nursing hub looks like any other call center. Michael Del Bosque is a traveling nurse from Texas. He worked in the ICU for years. Now he's here, working as a virtual nurse."I joke around with the patients, stuff like that. I try to be very friendly with them, you know. But there are some that don't like the invasion of privacy. There are some that just have a different opinion on it: 'You're not a real nurse or what.'"Virtual nurses are an extra set of eyes. Their cameras can even zoom in so they can see the tiny numbers on a syringe."We're able to let the staff know exactly why they need to go that room instead of just walking into the room blindly," Del Bosque said.Another plus is that they can handle the massive amount of charting and make calls to doctors.Misajet says this is one way to address nursing shortages. Virtual nursing allows some nurses who were burned out to return to health care in a different role - that's not as physical."I use my brain a lot more, and I tend to be the one who solves the problems that I used to try to hand off to anyone," said Brad Jahner, a virtual nurse. "Mostly because they were very work and time-intensive."Technology supports bedside nursesMisajet believes the program will grow, perhaps even into the ER."We think we're on to something here. I always try to talk about was there anything good that could come out of the pandemic, and this was actually something good that came out of the pandemic because we grew it and we leveraged it and realized that no only did we have a pandemic, we now have a nursing shortage," she said. "So what can we do to keep these technological ideas going to support the bedside?"It's costly. And there are some myths to bust like the nurses are local and not overseas. They're also not taking the place of bedside nurses."We're there to catch them because we have the time to go in-depth, and then just taking things off the shoulders of the nurses as far as going into the room and having a conversation with the patient," said Jahner.A virtual nurse walked Clinton through being discharged while we visited MercyOne. She and her family members could ask all the questions they needed."I can't believe hospitals operate this way," Clinton remarked. " Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI

Lerene Clinton got her first virtual nursing experience during a recent week-long stay at MercyOne in downtown Des Moines.

A nurse operating from a call center-like office appeared on a screen in her room above her bed. Brad Jahner greeted Clinton and began talking her through being discharged. A tiny camera allowed him to look around the room and check the details.

"It just seems unbelievable. ... It's amazing to me," Clinton said of the experience.

MercyOne ventured into virtual nursing by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the hospital system has grown the program and incorporated it on a larger scale. KCCI got a behind-the-scenes look at how this works. The virtual nurses aren't replacing bedside nurses, says Jennifer Misajet, one of the nursing administrators for MercyOne. The goal is to have three-person teams: a virtual nurse, a bedside nurse and a patient care technician, all working together.

"We had cows. We had beef cattle. We had hogs. You know, back in my years, you had everything," she said.

From a young age, she learned to handle a lot of new experiences like driving a tractor when she was 8. But when it comes to technology?

"I do not like computers because they don't like me," Clinton said.

Virtual nursing was strange at first, but she changed her mind pretty quickly.

"They are very helpful in the whole operation of everything they do. Some work ahead a time that the doctor, nurses don't have to do. It brings it right down the line," Clinton said.

'Good idea' from the pandemic

What Clinton experienced in her recent hospital stay started during a stressful time in healthcare.

"It really did originate from the pandemic," said Misajet. "There was a physician here that was really concerned about how we were going to be able to deliver enough care to enough patients, and so they used the technology they had at the time. They really cobbled things together and said, 'This is a good idea.'"

Some of the current and former MercyOne nurses who spoke to KCCI said the virtual nursing program helps in some situations -- but had its challenges, too.

Related story: KCCI Investigates: MercyOne nurses worry about higher number of patients to care for

"They're never hands-on. They get to do, I will say they get to do a lot, like they do chart our routine rounds. They chart most of those, I should say," said the unnamed nurse who spoke to KCCI. She asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her job.

She added: "That helps quite a bit. But it also depends if you have virtual nurses available."

Misajet said they have hired even more virtual nurses recently.

But those virtual nurses need a different set of skills and even more experience. "They need to be engaging. They need to be able to feel comfortable interacting with the patient because, you know, it's very hard to be remote and develop that relationship," said Kelly Barker, the director of virtual nursing.

The virtual nursing hub looks like any other call center. Michael Del Bosque is a traveling nurse from Texas. He worked in the ICU for years. Now he's here, working as a virtual nurse.

"I joke around with the patients, stuff like that. I try to be very friendly with them, you know. But there are some that don't like the invasion of privacy. There are some that just have a different opinion on it: 'You're not a real nurse or what.'"

Virtual nurses are an extra set of eyes. Their cameras can even zoom in so they can see the tiny numbers on a syringe.

"We're able to let the staff know exactly why they need to go that room instead of just walking into the room blindly," Del Bosque said.

Another plus is that they can handle the massive amount of charting and make calls to doctors.

Misajet says this is one way to address nursing shortages.

Virtual nursing allows some nurses who were burned out to return to health care in a different role - that's not as physical.

"I use my brain a lot more, and I tend to be the one who solves the problems that I used to try to hand off to anyone," said Brad Jahner, a virtual nurse. "Mostly because they were very work and time-intensive."

Technology supports bedside nurses

Misajet believes the program will grow, perhaps even into the ER.

"We think we're on to something here. I always try to talk about was there anything good that could come out of the pandemic, and this was actually something good that came out of the pandemic because we grew it and we leveraged it and realized that no only did we have a pandemic, we now have a nursing shortage," she said. "So what can we do to keep these technological ideas going to support the bedside?"

It's costly. And there are some myths to bust like the nurses are local and not overseas. They're also not taking the place of bedside nurses.

"We're there to catch them because we have the time to go in-depth, and then just taking things off the shoulders of the nurses as far as going into the room and having a conversation with the patient," said Jahner.

A virtual nurse walked Clinton through being discharged while we visited MercyOne. She and her family members could ask all the questions they needed.

"I can't believe hospitals operate this way," Clinton remarked.