How Providence Health used virtual sitting to reduce nurse burnout—backed by published clinical research. 

Reducing Nurse Burnout Through Virtual Sitting 

Challenge

Virtual sitting is widely recognized for its ability to reduce patient falls and lower costs. However, Providence Health wanted to better understand an equally critical question: 

• Does virtual sitting reduce emotional exhaustion and burnout among nurses? 

• How do bedside nurses perceive virtual sitters compared to in-person sitters? 

With rising concerns around workforce sustainability, emotional labor, and workplace violence, Providence sought clinical evidence to evaluate how different monitoring models impact nurse well-being. 

Study Overview

Providence conducted a rigorous, real-world study across two Magnet-designated hospitals: 

• Providence Medical Center (Anchorage, AK) 

• Providence St. Peter Hospital (Olympia, WA) 

Study Design

• 524 experience-sampling surveys 

• 74 bedside nurses 

• Conducted over a 3-week period 

• Published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research (August 2023) 

The study examined emotional exhaustion, perceived workload, and the impact of both virtual and in-person sitters on daily nursing practice. 

Key Findings

Virtual sitting reduces nurse burnout 

• Virtual sitting significantly lowered emotional exhaustion—especially among nurses with lower organizational commitment, a group often at higher risk for burnout and turnover. 

In-person sitters increase emotional labor 

• In-person sitters were frequently perceived as a drain on nursing resources and contributors to emotional fatigue rather than a source of support. 

Virtual sitters are viewed as a valued resource 

• Nurses described virtual sitting as safer, more reliable, and less disruptive to care delivery. 

• These findings build on earlier Providence research (2020) showing bedside nurses prefer virtual sitting over in-person models. 

Impact

For Providence, virtual sitting delivers more than patient safety—it supports the resilience and sustainability of the nursing workforce. 

By reducing emotional exhaustion, minimizing unnecessary emotional labor, and keeping nurses focused on direct patient care, virtual sitting helps: 

• Improve nurse well-being and job satisfaction 

• Reduce burnout risk 

• Enable scalable, technology-enabled staffing models 

• Maintain safety while keeping clinicians at the bedside 

Virtual sitting has also played a key role in addressing workplace violence risk. 

“Twenty percent of our monitored patients are related to workplace violence. Lowering the threshold for reporting and monitoring these patients has helped us better protect our team.” 

About Providence Health

• Magnet-designated health system 

• Study sites: 

• Providence Medical Center (Anchorage, AK) 

• Providence St. Peter Hospital (Olympia, WA) 

Link to Clinical Evidence: https://avasure.com/resource/an-experience-sampling-analysis-of-the-impact-of-video-monitoring-technology-and-in-person-sitters-on-nurse-burnout/ 

Link to Webinar: https://avasure.com/resource/revolutionizing-nurse-well-being-how-video-monitoring-reduces-nurse-burnout/