Preparing Nursing for the Virtual Care Realities of a Post-Pandemic Future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual care in healthcare contexts globally, inclusive of nursing care. Along with the rapid adoption of virtual care by the nursing profession, reflections regarding how best to leverage virtual care in nurse-patient relationships and as an innovative model of care have begun to emerge in both the literature and nursing discourse. Subsequently, the purposes of this paper are to (1) provide a reflection on the significant innovation in virtual care in nursing that was established during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) suggest future strategic directions for the profession in order to retain the benefits related to virtual care becoming more widely adopted into various nursing roles and activities. It is hoped that through this reflection and presentation of strategic directions, nurses and their associated leadership can identify viable future pathways to help evolve the use and delivery of virtual care in the profession for a post-pandemic world.