Legal Nurse Consulting!

Published

Hi everyone,

I just stumbled across this forum and wanted to say hello!

I have been an LNC since 1997.

Lori

Nancie,

I became a CLNC in Oct. and I'm 51. No, it's not easy, nurses are not used to "selling"

what they have to offer. But I feel that none has control of my life but me. If I want

to suceed, I have to make it happen. I have an ADN and it hasn't been a problem yet.

My problem is deciding if I need to go in-house as opposed to independent consulting.

The problem with in-house in my area is the attorneys want the experience but don't

want to "pay" for it. Welcome any input.

legalnurse22

You need to pont out to them that you have a skill that they don't have. If they could read medical records as well as you can they wouldn't need you. State what you fee is, and when they refuse get up and walk out. They are paying for your nursing and medical expertise. That is what lawyers are paid for. Isn't it? Point this out to them. There is also insurance companies that you can market to.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Up Vote Up Vote ×
With the amount of times that I have gone head-to-head with the state surveyors for my facility, I have become very interested in your type of job. Are you certified? and what course would you recommend? Has it been hard to find work ? :)

Denise, I took Vickie Milazzo's course (her advertisement is at the top of the page). I took my certification exam at the end of the course. I still plan to take the AALNC exam also, but you have to have 2000 hours of consulting experience to sit for that one. They also offer a course. Go to their web site for info: http://www.aalnc.org . Kaplin University also has an on-line course, I don't know much about that course. Finding work. It's tough but you have to be persistant. Make the decision if you want to work in-house or on a case by case basis. I prefer to do it independently. You have to be willing to testify also (haven't done that yet). I still work full-time at the hospital as a Nurs. Supervisor and will still work PRN after I get my consulting up to full-time (to stay current with in-house P&Ps, etc). I personally recommend Vickie's course because she has the mentors available to ask any questions that you may have even after you are certified. Hope this helps some. You don't have to testify, but even the firms with in-house nurses will

use an independent consultant as a TE because their nurses can't testify.

legalnurse22

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Denise, I took Vickie Milazzo's course (her advertisement is at the top of the page). I took my certification exam at the end of the course. I still plan to take the AALNC exam also, but you have to have 2000 hours of consulting experience to sit for that one. They also offer a course. Go to their web site for info: http://www.aalnc.org . Kaplin University also has an on-line course, I don't know much about that course. Finding work. It's tough but you have to be persistant. Make the decision if you want to work in-house or on a case by case basis. I prefer to do it independently. You have to be willing to testify also (haven't done that yet). I still work full-time at the hospital as a Nurs. Supervisor and will still work PRN after I get my consulting up to full-time (to stay current with in-house P&Ps, etc). I personally recommend Vickie's course because she has the mentors available to ask any questions that you may have even after you are certified. Hope this helps some. You don't have to testify, but even the firms with in-house nurses will

use an independent consultant as a TE because their nurses can't testify.

legalnurse22

Thank you for the info....I really appreciate it....DONDenise

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I agree with Lindarn regarding documentation. It is the only thing that will

save you or sink you. I teach a lot of documentation classes to nursing

students and to hospitals and I stress importance. I also tell them what I look for when I'm doing a case screening for an attorney as far as looking for

adherence to or deviation from SOC, tampering, etc. What's missing is just as important as what's there, because I know what should be there. So all I

can say is DOCUMENT!! DOCUMENT!! DOCUMENT!! They taught us that if it

wasn't documented it wasn't done. We know that in reality that's not always true, but you can't prove it if it's not documented. When that case goes to

trial, It's everyone for themselves, you do not have "friends" that will take the blame for something you did or did not do.

Legalnurse22

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I agree with Lindarn regarding documentation. It is the only thing that will

save you or sink you. I teach a lot of documentation classes to nursing

students and to hospitals and I stress importance. I also tell them what I look for when I'm doing a case screening for an attorney as far as looking for

adherence to or deviation from SOC, tampering, etc. What's missing is just as important as what's there, because I know what should be there. So all I

can say is DOCUMENT!! DOCUMENT!! DOCUMENT!! They taught us that if it

wasn't documented it wasn't done. We know that in reality that's not always true, but you can't prove it if it's not documented. When that case goes to

trial, It's everyone for themselves, you do not have "friends" that will take the blame for something you did or did not do.

Legalnurse22

I just wanted to add something to the above post about being fired for an occurrence regarding a patient's death and a physician that failed to respond to your calls to see the patient. I believe that all "on call" phone services keep a log of incoming calls to the on call physician. The individuals who are answering the calls for the on call service must record ALL calls for a physician, just as I believe that the offices have to some way to log calls to physicians that are received. This log is discoverable in a lawsuit. This can validate that you did indeed call a physician to notify him/her of a change in a patient's condition.

Also, off topic, if there is a quesion about a patient arriving/having a test at a lab, radiology office, etc, there is a sign in log at the front desk that patients must sign when they arrive for testing. I had a case when the patient had an exam done, and there was no record of it anywhere. The officeinsistred that it wasn't done, but the patient insisted that it was. I told the attorney to submit a request for reproduction of documents, and request the log at the front desk. Just my 0.02 cents.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Up Vote Up Vote ×

another bit of FYI for jdkaos and others, Anytime that you have a concern

with not getting a resident or attending to respond, always follow your chain

of command (and document). Being a Nursing Supervisor, I deal with this all

the time. Notify your Supervisor, they will help from there. I've had to call

DON, Administrator on call, Senior partner in group, Chief of staff, etc. The

main thing to remember is: your responsibility to the patient doesn't stop just because the physican on call won't come in. Once again, documentation

is the most and best defense weapon you have. Good luck, and I hope some

of the info we've shared will help.

Legalnurse22

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hello! I am a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, currently looking to get started in my career. I live in a very rural area....any advice on getting started or marketing advice?????

--what do you think about a nursing instuctor and another RN having a student give meds from a MAR of discharged patient who had signed out and is waiting for her daughter to bring the car around? It is much more complex than that, but that in a nut shell, led to me failing 5 weeks before I was to be pinned (RN).

rw in SC

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I would love to do the same sort of work. There are hardly any resources on the subject matter. Any suggestions?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hello! I am a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, currently looking to get started in my career. I live in a very rural area....any advice on getting started or marketing advice?????

You can market to attorneys all over the US! You are not limited to just your county or state. Email marketing is the easiest and gets better results.

Gail Neuman RNC CPHW SNP LNC

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case Mgmt; Mat/Child, Critical Care.

Hi there! May I ask how long you've been a LNC? Did you take Vickie Milazzo's course?

Thanks!!

You can market to attorneys all over the US! You are not limited to just your county or state. Email marketing is the easiest and gets better results.

Gail Neuman RNC CPHW SNP LNC

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
Hello! I am a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, currently looking to get started in my career. I live in a very rural area....any advice on getting started or marketing advice?????

I, too,am a certified legal nurse consultant. You need to look into the Milazzo Inst. Vickie is great and as the others have said, the mentors are very valuable to you. You will learn about many areas of legal nursing in the course, but the marketing of your business is all up to you. I have just now incorporated and am working on a multi million dollar settlement. My first real case. A few small ones, but, this is great. I have served as expert witness several times. You will feel so wonderful having your own business and being your own boss. I also am a certified registered nurse practitioner in OB _ GYN and an educator in cardiac care and OB. So, you can imagine how valuable your nursing expertise is when you work as expert witness on a case. I also have learned so much about websites...mine will be up in a couple weeks. Yes, it is expensive to get started but so worth it. Just call them and they will answer questions for you. CALL TODAY.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hi everyone,

I just stumbled across this forum and wanted to say hello!

I have been an LNC since 1997.

Lori

How many years of clinical experience do you need? I only have a little over 3 of med-surg and worker's comp case management experience for 3 1/2 years. Is this enough to try to do LNC?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion