Ask a Nurse

Type your question here:

What Does a Telenurse Do?

Telenursing is part of telehealth, an industry that delivers health care form a distance using modern technology. Often referred to as a call center registered nurse, telenurses provide care for patients via telecommunication devices. A registered nurse may work at a call center, providing patient triage and important health care information to callers.

Telenurses may use real-time telehealth videoconferencing or the Internet. A patient may store health data on his computer and, later, a telenurse will review this information. Infrared technology can relay sensor-gathered patient health data to telenurses. No matter what kind of techology a telenurse uses, he or she still uses the nursing process to care for patients.

Education & Training Required to Become a Telenurse

Telenurses are registered nurses (RNs). You can become an RN via an online degree program, at a brick-and-mortar school, or in a hospital diploma program. After earning an associate's degree (ADN) in nursing, a bachelor of science nursing (BSN) degree, or a hospital nursing diploma, you must pass the a national licensing test, the NCLEX-RN examination. No telenursing degree programs exist, but you can earn an advanced nursing degree to advance your telenursing career.

Typical Characteristics of a Telenurse

Telenurses don't access their patients in person. So you must be adept at communication and able to tune into signals such as tone of voice. Telenursing calls for solid clinical and acute critical thinking abilities. You must think quickly, often creating a care program within 15 minutes.

High Demand for Telenurses

As demand for health care continues to grow, so does demand for telenursing. Telenurses help fill the gap created by the current U.S. nursing shortage. Salaries for telenurses vary based on geography, experience, and place of employment, but as registered nurses, telenurses typically make a comfortable income. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for registered nurses in 2008 was $62,450.