"Do I or don't I?" CLNC??

elkpark · Mar 17, 2008

Welcome to allnurses! :balloons:

We do have some regular posters who are CLNCs, and I'm sure they will be "chiming in" after a while but, in the meantime, there are also a number of older threads discussing various CLNC-related issues that you could review by using the "search" feature in the upper R corner of the screen.

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 17, 2008

Hello and Welcome to allnurses.com

Good to have you.

I moved your thread to the Legal Nursing forum. Please check out the sticky threads (found at the top of this forum) about the different entites of LNC education.

We hope you enjoy the site.

RN1989 · Mar 17, 2008

If you are looking for the easy, inexpensive way out of bedside nursing LNC is NOT it.

There are not "jobs" out there that you can peruse like you would a regular nursing job in the classifieds or on websites. A LNC makes their own job. They open their own business and they do all the legwork to find their clients. It is not like opening a store and people simply walk in to shop or utilize your services.

Although you will hear Vickie Milazzo talk about starting with only $100 in her bank account, you will find it very difficult to get business that way anymore. When she started there was no one out there doing this type of work. These days, particularly with the WWW bringing people together, the competition for work is fierce. You must find a way to stand apart from the crowd and find a reason for your potential clients to think that you are a better choice than your competitor. This means you must spend money on computer equipment/software, stationary, business cards, brochures, web sites, etc. This also means that you must spend a lot of time marketing which can be difficult if you have a full time job already and are unable to quit it without having another source of income. Your ability to get work heavily depends on your professional image as well as your ability to be a salesman.

There are many choices for a course out there. They each have a little something different. You need to take an assessment of yourself. What are your current strengths and weaknesses? Then you find the course that will offer you the most, catering to the things that you feel you need the most assistance with in order to do the job of an LNC.

Columnist · Mar 17, 2008

An LNC is not limited to setting up his or her own practice.

LNC's are also hired by law firms as "in-house" LNC's. The in-house LNC practice is associated with advantages and disadvantages.

The in-house LNC benefits from frequent contact and discussions with the attorneys in the firm regarding procedural status of cases, strategies. applicable legal standards, etc. This allows the LNC to gradually develop the skills and knowledge necessary to analyze medical issues in the context of legal standards.

The in-house LNC also benefits from a steady income, with job security dependent upon the LNC's performance and ability of the firm to maintain an adequate caseload of personal injury cases.

LNC's can also be employed by insurance companies to work in areas such as utilization review, case management, claims adjustment, workers' compensation, and risk management.

RN1989 · Mar 18, 2008

Ah, TNButterfly you are correct. There are inhouse positions. Although I don't see them being very easy to find. It seems that only larger firms have inhouse and they don't advertise much for the positions.

Have not seen any insurance companies wanting LNCs in the last 5 years. They want the cheapest person they can find and I see more and more co's wanting LVNs compared to RNs, at least in the locales that I have been. After all, RNs and RN LNCs don't care to work for peanuts after all the years of education and experience.

katwoman7755 · Mar 20, 2008

Thank you RN1989. The things you just outlined are the exact concerns I am having about investing the money to do this program. I would love to do it and know I would do the work necessary to have success, but does that necessarily mean that I would have success?? Not necessarily.....I do sort of have a hard time jumping into it and spending the money on the program when some of it seems like a game of chance.

What would you suggest is the best way to decide if someone should do this? How do you maybe best assess your market ahead of time to see if there is a demand?

Sunshiyn · Mar 20, 2008

Thank you RN1989. The things you just outlined are the exact concerns I am having about investing the money to do this program. I would love to do it and know I would do the work necessary to have success, but does that necessarily mean that I would have success?? Not necessarily.....I do sort of have a hard time jumping into it and spending the money on the program when some of it seems like a game of chance.
What would you suggest is the best way to decide if someone should do this? How do you maybe best assess your market ahead of time to see if there is a demand?

I shared your concerns about the financial investment. You may want to check out the aalnc.org website. They have an online program. You can pay as you go. They also have some great info on the difference between a certificate and certification.

I'm now on Module 2 and love it.

OBGYN Legal RN · Mar 20, 2008

I just "did it", no classes, just networked and truly found that attorneys are actually searching for the "unpolished" LNC, whether actually "certified" or not. They do NOT care, they look at the CV and experience in the area. I have made over $10,000 on 2 cases that are still on going by the bill as you go method (both started in October 2007), both attorneys are prominent in their field and both are plaintiff attorneys. I used to think the cerification had to be important but am actually being told by attorneys themselves that they want a fresh approach so they can mentor you. One is actually talking about an in-house job, salary discussions have not happened, but I have lucked into this and wish everyone the same success. So search every aspect out before you pay for a certification that it seems to me is not that impressive to the employers. My 2 cents :)

RN1989 · Mar 20, 2008

What would you suggest is the best way to decide if someone should do this? How do you maybe best assess your market ahead of time to see if there is a demand?

I don't know that there is really a way to do market research ahead of time. If you walked into an office and tried to get info I can see them refusing to talk to you unless you had all your materials in hand to show them what you can offer them. On the other side, I can see them refusing to hire you because you were just doing research and weren't ready to work so once you planted the idea of an LNC in their heads, they went looking for one that was ready to work. I think it is one of those things where you decide "I am going to do this and it is going to work if it kills me".

I think too many nurses see it as a quick easy way to get out of a job they don't like. Plus those ads of "make $150/hr" really get their attention. But in the end they find out that it is very hard work, not only to do the actual LNC work but to find clients. Nurses aren't usually hardcore salespeople so it is a big change to have to walk into an office and literally sell yourself like you are a car.

I know quite a few nurses who spent the money, took a course, and when reality hit, they stayed at their hospital jobs instead of being an LNC. They found out that they didn't like this kind of paperwork any better than the reams of charting they had to do at the hospital. They didn't like having to work weird hours to get a case done on time. They thought it was going to be bankers hours with bankers benefits and little effort on their part. Several nurses I know had a problem with LNC work being a solitary job. Most women like to talk and be with people and they use their jobs as a way to get in their socializing. Working alone so much doing work that does not require conversing with people can drive some nurses crazy. They just can't handle being alone the majority of the time. Time is money. An attorney is not going to pay you to chitchat at the office. And you will not be able to chitchat while you are doing the work and still be able to pay close attention to details and work under deadlines. For nurses that are "people persons" and like to talk and socialize - this type of work is not for them.

If a nurse does not like the reams of documentation and attention to detail that hospital/facility charting entails, they will not enjoy being an LNC. There are no patients for LNCs, just reams of documentation both yours and other people's work.

You have to be very self-motivated and be able to jump on the "road" without a map and know what you need to do to get results - without having a pt to give you input so you know you are going in the right direction. LNCs cannot pass the buck. Unlike a hospital where nursing care is 24/7 and you can leave things undone at the end of your shift, the buck stops with the LNC and if you don't get it done, you don't get a second chance. You could even be sued for poor/shoddy work or not meeting a deadline.

To people who are just looking for a way to get away from the bedside, I advise you to keep your money and don't even bother with LNC work. For people who truly enjoy paperwork, lots of analytical thinking, and are able to be self-directed, then I would say that you might consider being an LNC after you take careful evaluation of your preferences/strengths/weaknesses and motivation for a job change.

I have seen so many nurses over the years take the courses thinking they were going to be rich. Few get rich, some make a living, and most never even make it to the finish line and they end up keeping/going back to their clinical jobs because it is easier.

katwoman7755 · Mar 21, 2008

Thanks RN1989....I do think it would be something I would immensely enjoy as all those things you mentioned that many might not like or be good at, I think I would. I guess like anything else it is just kind of scary to think of getting started much less trying to determine the best path to do so. I appreciate seeing it discussed from a more honest and realistic place as I'm sure you are absolutely correct that many nurses believe paying for the biggest and best course will do alot of the work for them which I know is not the case. I think I will look more into the AALNC course primarily b/c I think I would need some foundation in order to do the best job possible and understanding completely what is expected. Again, thank you.

alkaleidi · Apr 11, 2008

You know, I've watched the intro by VM for her course and she seems VERY inspirational and animated, definitely up my alley, but in looking for alternatives online, I have found her program/package (the text/videos/cds/etc, not the live conference/course) for as cheap as $300, or in the "used" section of amazon.com for $1500. I guess if someone was a self-motivator but seeking the content of her course they could definitely seek it out online and then decide whether they want to invest in the rest of the program.

I am thinking about investing solely in the Legal Nurse Consulting (Principles and Practices?) text and studying, coming up with some marketing ideas, and going from there. Still doing research on all the programs there are out there for LNC certificates, and none have "sold" (or bought... LOL) me yet.