Abstract
Introduction: Nursing has developed a variety of innovative strategies to meet the growing demand for nurses and changes in the care provision methods. Among these strategies is virtual nursing. However, there is still no comprehensive and functional definition of this concept. So, this study was conducted to clarify the concept of virtual nursing.
Methods: Walker and Avant’s approach was used to analyze the concept of virtual nursing. The keywords virtual nursing and virtual nurse were searched without time limit in English databases such as Science Direct, SCOPUS, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Finally, 38 studies with inclusion criteria were included in the study.
Results: The concept of virtual nursing has emerged as a result of performing nursing activities in a virtual space. Virtual nursing means the provision of nursing services to recipients in a virtual space using technology and communication technology. This concept has six defining attributes including communication, provision of nursing services, Evidence based nursing, and no location restrictions, no time limit, and occurrence in virtual media. This concept has also nine antecedents, and four major consequences.
Conclusion: A theoretical definition of the concept of virtual nursing was presented. The results of this study can be used to improve care delivery and nursing training and expand the use of this concept in care, education, and research.