What Is an Online RN and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

As an online registered nurse (RN), your responsibilities center around performing triage to patients who call a nurses hotline or through telehealth applications like virtual patient assessment. As an online RN, you are responsible for following up on diagnoses or educating patients regarding treatment plans. You help patients with referrals and provide access to other useful resources. Your duties may also include working as an RN in case management, which often requires coordinating care for patients. Depending on your employer, you may perform telenursing from home, in a medical call center, or another remote setting.

The qualifications required to get a job as an online RN vary based on employer, but typically include graduation from an accredited school of nursing, current RN licensure in the state in which you work, and RN experience in specific areas such as pediatrics, emergency room or urgent care, or as a nurse practitioner (NP). Experience with telemedicine and proficiency with web-based applications or electronic medical record systems can set you ahead of other job seekers. As an online RN, you should have excellent communication skills, multitasking, organizational ability, and the ability to work efficiently, quickly, and accurately.