Are LNCs really practicing nursing?

[RN1989]

i received the following email exchange and was asked to post here for other nurses/lncs to see.

an ad appeared in nurseweek asking "tired of nursing?" and promoting an lnc course as a way to get away from practicing nursing.

as experienced lncs know, this type of work is often more difficult than direct pt care and you must have a solid nursing/healthcare foundation before attempting lnc work. lnc work is not for people running from a job that they hate and looking for just any old job that get them away from the bedside. you really have to enjoy the aspects of lnc work to be able to perform it well and have the perseverance to remain in the field. i have seen many nurses come and go in the last year who thought that being an lnc was an easy job to transition into. it is not.

the ana has accepted lnc as being a specialty of nursing. reputable lnc courses require an active, unrestricted rn license to be able to even enroll in the courses there are various credentials out there and there are several that also require active rn license r/t the title "nurse" being restricted in several states to only persons holding an active nursing license.

this subject is sparking debate in the lnc world. is being an lnc really practicing nursing? the laws require expert witnesses to be currently practicing in the clinical setting and/or practicing at the time of the issue of the lawsuit. some of these tes call themselves lncs. but what about behind the scenes lnc? are they really nurses? and if so, who do lncs answer to? the bon? the aba? some other entity?

the originator of the email is an lnc and wanted more people to see that this attorney states that lnc work is not practicing nursing. it is an interesting exchange. i have edited some portions of it due to content. i will leave it to the readers to decide.

sir / madam:

i am both surprised and appalled by the heading of the 20% page advertisement your firm has published on page 33 of the february 2009 mountain west edition of nurseweek. tired of nursing? if you do not think legal nurse consulting is nursing, what exactly do you think it is?

in your attempt to exploit the disillusionments of many professional nurses who might be facing professional burnout or other professional hurdles, you have managed to insult most, if not all, practicing legal nurse consultants, and i would imagine most legal nurse consultant "wannabes", who are proud to be identified as professional nurses and who are acutely cognizant of precisely "who" and "what" they are.

i plan to share your insulting ad with as many world wide web legal nurse consultant and professional nursing forums as will be humanly possible. i will encourage everyone who reads your ad and my adjoining commentary to likewise share the same within their networks. i fully expect (and hope) that your short-sighted marketing ploy will ultimately prove to be far more detrimental to your cause than it will prove to be beneficial.

you owe a retraction and an apology to all legal nurse consultants and professional nurses everywhere.

ms. rooney’s e-mail response

your "surprise" is clearly based upon your lack of knowledge and training.

legal nurse consulting is not a specialty of nursing. legal nurse consultants do not practice under the nurse practice act. legal nurse consulting is a specialty of law firms that specialize in handling complex medical malpractice cases.

you are offended by the fact that nurses are "burnt" out. then look to your field of nursing and seek to make legislative changes that allow nurses to control their own profession.

good nurses are placed in dangerous situations everyday. why don't you direct your ire towards the real problem....the exploitation of nurses is done by hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies everyday.

listen to the nurses and you will hear their stories of fear and concern for patients safety. yet, nurses are understaffed, and given untenable patient assignments that create stress and concern for good nurses.

the legal nurse consultants graduating from this program are soaring with great results. our goal is to give nurses not just the best legal training in the country, but to empower them to become six figure entrepreneurs. why? nurse deserve it! why don't you re-consider your typical negative mindset that is conducive for keeping nurses down.

your approach for nurses is that nurses need to "shut-up" and take what's dished out. i say nurses should speak up and let people like you listen to them...they are tired! nurses deserve so much more.

donna l. rooney, esq.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

legal nurse consulting is a specialty of law firms that specialize in handling complex medical malpractice cases.

false.

i answer to my bon regarding practicing as an lnc. it is clearly outlined in the npa.

ms. rooney is not only an attorney, she is an rn and and lnc as well. i find it odd that she, as an rn, makes statements that legal nurse consulting is not a specialty of nursing especially since she has a program educating rns to become an lnc. her program allows the lnc to sit for the american society of legal nurse consultants (aslnc) certification examination. but, she does not link to nor does she mention anything to do with the american association of legal nurse consultants (aalnc).

one of the very things she points out for the rn to become an lnc is that the individual be a nurse in good standing in one's state before qualifying to take the (her) course.