Breaking into Legal Nurse Consulting

[bestblondRN]

I would really appreciate any feedback from those of you with experience as LNCs.

I have been a RN for 20 years and have practiced in a variety of clinical areas. I am looking for a new challenge that will provide me with opportunities to utilize my fairly extensive body of knowledge, and that will allow me to be more independent. I have always loved the idea of being my own boss, or at least being in a position where I can work on projects of interest to me. I am also greatly intrigued by the legal aspects of healthcare.

I have looked at a number of different programs, including Kaplan, Vickie Milazzo (seems VERY expensive, but is it a solid program?), and several different collges that offer the coursework leading to certification. How does one determine which programs are the best at preparing someone for the role of LNC? Are you able to find work now that you are certified, and how difficult was it? I would love to hear from any of you who have gone down this road.

Thanks a million for your help

Suzanne

[vacation]

Hi

I am currently enrolled in the Kaplan college Life care Planning certificate program. It is a new program as of this summer. To this point the only way to be eligible to sit for the CHCC exam was to go through intellicus which requires that you do some from home but travel for several modules. The Kaplan course is purely distance and has been developed by Paul Deutsch who is one of the founder of Life Care planning. I think that there may be a couple of other programs but it is the same type of thing as the LNC courses in that the others have their "own" certification. I went through Ms. Milazzos class and sat for her certification but no one seemed to care and it is not recognized by the AALNC so I learned my lesson on that one. The CHCC designation is from what I can tell the recognized certification. I was asked to do a life care plan recently but truly to do so, I think one needs to be prepared..it is not just using your nursing knowledge..it is a methodical process and very important to know what you are doing...not to mention I do not want to be ripped apart by the opposing atty soooo I am jumping through the hoops. So far I can't decide if I like the program or not but I am just now getting into the real meat about specific injuries like TBI and Spinal injuries so I think it is going to get interesting..

Erin

Hi,

I am an RN with only 4 years experience. I was wondering if I could do LNC, so I checked into Ms. Milazzo's course, and the course from Kaplan college. I just had a "gut" feeling from both places that I shouldn't invest at this time. My experience has been: 8 months med-surg, 1 year employee health/workwell (on-call), 15 months step-down unit, 6 months post-partum/pediatrics. I have also worked for an attorney's office prior to becoming a nurse--as a legal secretary/receptionist for 2 years.

I am really looking for a non-clinical, independent, partially at-home, type work as a nurse. Any suggestions as to which path I might take?

Awaiting responses......

vacation

[vacation]

Hi,

I am an RN with only 4 years experience. I was wondering if I could do LNC, so I checked into Ms. Milazzo's course, and the course from Kaplan college. I just had a "gut" feeling from both places that I shouldn't invest at this time. My experience has been: 8 months med-surg, 1 year employee health/workwell (on-call), 15 months step-down unit, 6 months post-partum/pediatrics. I have also worked for an attorney's office prior to becoming a nurse--as a legal secretary/receptionist for 2 years.

I am really looking for a non-clinical, independent, partially at-home, type work as a nurse. Any suggestions as to which path I might take?

Awaiting responses......

vacation

[Erin RN]

Hi,

I am an RN with only 4 years experience. I was wondering if I could do LNC, so I checked into Ms. Milazzo's course, and the course from Kaplan college. I just had a "gut" feeling from both places that I shouldn't invest at this time. My experience has been: 8 months med-surg, 1 year employee health/workwell (on-call), 15 months step-down unit, 6 months post-partum/pediatrics. I have also worked for an attorney's office prior to becoming a nurse--as a legal secretary/receptionist for 2 years.

I am really looking for a non-clinical, independent, partially at-home, type work as a nurse. Any suggestions as to which path I might take?

Awaiting responses......

vacation

Vacation

If I were you, rather than going through an expensive class (Like I did) I would purchase the AALNC's principles and practices for the legal nurse consultant book and read it cover to cover. 4 yrs of experierence may be enough..There is a great marketing book specifically for legal nurses if you PM me, I will give you the info. Marketing is by far the hardest part of LNCing. I know there are nurses that do it fulltime but I really just like having it as an extra..it is pretty fun, kind of like detective work in a sense. I usually do between 3-5 cases a month so I probably bill out about10-12 hours a month. My biggest client does not want written reports rather I review and we discuss, then if the case goes to trial I will formulate a report or sometimes I just sit down with the atty assigned and go over things with him/her.

With your background in law, you may be able to get an in house nurses consultant position.I would encourage you to look through the nurse entepreneur forum here on this site. There are all sorts of new and great ideas on how to be independent. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Erin

[Lovermont]

I will be taking my NCLEX in Jan 2005 and I'm wondering if I can join AALNC as a student nurse? I am in a direct entry graduate nursing program and I already have an A.S. paralegal degree. I mainly want to read the articles in the quarterly magazine. I obviously can't practice as a consultant until I have an RN. Do people have old magazines they're willing to part with?

I searched the AALNC website and couldn't find anything for students. Is there anything out there for me?