Newbie - Questions about all the Designations

Columnist · Mar 31, 2007

hello everyone,
i have just recently started to look into this exciting and challanging nursing specialty and i have become a little overwhelmed with all of the different programs and designations out there.
i feel confident in my knowledge and experance as a nurse. i have been a neonatal icu nurse of 10yrs at a very large unit in orlando florida and i have even done "time" as an asst nurse manager. but i want to get the best legal education that will give a firm knowledge base on which to build. i feel that a more formal (online) education maybe the best route as opposed to a seminar. any thoughts?
lastly, i was hoping to start this thread as a discussion about all the different designations/certifications out there.
lnc - basic designation
alnc - lnc stat course
lnc-csp - american college of lnc
clnc - national alliance of lnc (milazzo corp)
lncc - american association of lnc
rlnc - evans & associates, ltd (ohio based group)

these are just a few that i have found and i was wondering what everyone thought of these different designations and the value or non-value of each. please add to the list if there are others out there.

i look forward to many more discussions in the future and thank you all for providing this valuable and useful forum

lysanderrn
:welcome:

hello lysanderrn and welcome to the legal forum and allnurses.

i am happy to see that you are considering a career as an lnc. you are right....there are many programs that offer training, and you must look at each one carefully. while formal training in legal nurse consulting is not required to practice, i feel that you will be better prepared and informed if you do seek training. there are many things to consider when selecting a program of training. i refer you to the following link which discusses criteria that should be considered in assessing credible, useful, legal nurse consulting education. this link also discusses lnc certification.

http://www.aalnc.org/edupro/position.cfm

things to consider are:

the reputation of the institution that offers the training.
the mission and purpose of the program; its primary focus.
the qualifications of the program instructors and directors. are they nurses or attorneys. what is their experience.
the curriculum - length; method of study(on-line, seminar, home-study); core information

after looking at the various options, you need to select the course of study that meets your personal needs and professional goals.

read through the various threads in this forum. there are answers to many of your questions, especially in the stickies at the top of the page.

i see that you are intersted in online training options. i am currently taking the aalnc online training and have been pleased with that. i would be happy to answer specific questions about this program or other general questions. feel free to contact me via pm or post your questions here.

Columnist · Mar 31, 2007

LysanderRN,

As far as the various designations/titles/certifications etc.........the attorneys I have talked to don't really care about your training, certification, etc. They are manily interested in what you can do for them. However, I think training is very important so that you are prepared to do the best job possible, and thereby earn their respect and their business.

LysanderRN · Apr 1, 2007

tnbutterfly, thanks for the advice. I have a very close group of friends here in Orlando and believe it or not 2/3's of them are attorneys. None of them deal with Med Mal or PI but all of them agree that formal education (online or not) will give me the best prep and credibility. All of them have been very supportive and seem to think that there is a great need for LNCs. None of them understand what an LNC does, so I know that a large portion of my new career will be devoted to education of the attorneys. Luckly, working in a Neonatal ICU, a significant portion of my job is education, being that not many people have ever had to deal with the issues associated with premie or sick newborn.

As to the designations, I understand that the attorneys could careless about the letters after my name. But that is where I feel education will come in to play. I did have one attorney tell me to be careful about how many certifications/designation I put after my name. He said that I don't want to be perceived as a "hired gun". I'm not sure what that means but i did read in a couple of other threads that its not good.

Thanks for the warm welcome and look forward to many other comments in the future.

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 3, 2007

I did have one attorney tell me to be careful about how many certifications/designation I put after my name. He said that I don't want to be perceived as a "hired gun". I'm not sure what that means but i did read in a couple of other threads that its not good.
.

Hello, LysanderRN and welcome to allnurses.com and the Legal Nursing forum.

Hired gun is in reference to Expert Witness. This doesn't apply to the consultant (LNC). Added education, including certification(s), is never wasted.