The road once travelled led to Legal Nursing

TinaRuth · Feb 5, 2013

I'm seriously considering legal nurse consulting. I have been in nursing since 1993 and most all of my experience is in LTC. My current position is a director if nursing. I would like supplemental income but am concerned about the cost of getting started and then wonder would I ever get work.

RadRobyn · Feb 9, 2013

I am currently working in the Quality Improvement field, and right as I took this job, I took a weekend course entitled "Become a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant." The course was GREAT and at the end I was certified. They offered an additional internship, which I am taking advantage of, which walks you through the steps of setting up your business, advertising, and so on.

Originally, I took the course thinking it would help me at my new job (I was fairly clueless as to what the actual day-to-day work would be in quality). I did quite a bit of auditing charts and participating on improvement committees at my former job as an assistant nurse manager/interim manager, which is what led me to seek out quality improvement. I loved reading charts, and I love helping other people do their jobs optimally.

As it turns out, I am quite excited about LNC as a career. As I work through this internship I am more and more excited about finding my first case and seeing what it's REALLY all about. And the extra money will be a nice benefit too;)

To answer your question more completely, I have been in the nursing field as and RN with a BSN for 9 years. I worked in a neonatal ICU for a year, then in a Level 1 adult trauma center for 2 years, then in an interventional radiology department for 4 years (mostly as assistant manager). Each job/position I left for a variety of reasons; ability to work days vs. nights, physical demands, administrative stress/being overworked and undersupported, etc. However, through it all, I do have to say nursing is a blessed profession. We get paid pretty darn great. I don't know ANYONE else who has the flexibility to change jobs the way we do. Or the opportunities we do to learn so much about so many different aspects of medical care, humanity, administration, quality, and now for me, the legal profession!

rnixon77 · Feb 20, 2013

Hi there,

I'm currently looking for a business coach and mentor for starting my business as a legal nurse consultant. I recently lost my hearing in my right ear secondary to mastoiditis. With seven kids at home and the loss of my nanny, I am in a very rough spot. I also lost my mom several months ago from "CVA." While taking blood thinners she was actively bleeding and passed away. Since mom passed last September, I have had a hard time at being a nurse. I found my patients love me, but I also experienced a form of bullying I do not quite understand with nurses. I noticed it while in the nursing program, and just haven't found a true partnership to share my goals and achievements. I am frightened from the fiscal cliff, but not afraid to commit to my decision not to return to medical-surgical specialty rehabilitation at the bedside. I am going for my legal nurse consultant certification, RN to BSN online and working through my business to furnish my PharmD. The long-term dream is to become a pharmacologist to do pharmaceutical research in chemotherapeutics.

I really appreciate your encouragement! I have worked extremely hard to obtain education and skills, and experience in the not-so-friendly-so-far world of nursing.

Thank you for your post.

Kind Regards,

-R.Nixon, RN

(Nurse becca)

lkatsimpson · Oct 22, 2013

Hello, I have left the field of nursing to commit myself full time to starting my own LNC business. I have been in the OR for over 21 years. I looked into LNC about 7 years ago and found Vicki's course. Way to expensive for me, so I let my thoughts drop for a while. I divorced and remarried and moved shortly after that. While working in the OR at the coast (wont say which hospital because I refuse to name names about why I am a disgruntled employee) I found a course offered by ed2go at my local Community College, it was online and would work with my schedule. Due to circumstances at work, I quit and am now working full time to start up my business. My course was six weeks and was taught by an attorney. I have a certificate and am attempting to meet the criteria for receiving my AALNC certification. Right now I have sent out over 75 packets containing my CV, a brochure, letter of introduction and a business card. I made my first follow up calls last week (two weeks after first mail out of 30). Found 2 numbers disconnected, 1 going out of business, left multiple voice mails and messages with the gate keeper and spoke to 2 live attorneys. The first one told me that they do not do the type of cases that I would be able to work on (not true according to the files in the file room of our clerk of court) and the other said that he had no need of me at this time but to keep checking back with him. Today and tomorrow I am returning the calls for the voice mails and messages and on Thursday I am calling the second batch of mail out for my first follow up. I have checked into the local bar association and found they are meeting Thurs. but when I contacted them to see if I could attend I was told that it was open only to paying members of the bar. I sent back a reply asking for information about any upcoming events that I might be able to either just attend or set up a booth. I will see how that goes. My next step will be cold calls but I am not sure how to go about doing that. I have read about having a sample work product when I finally get an appointment to meet with some attorneys but I don't know how to set up one and since I haven't worked as an LNC yet I don't have an actual one. I would love for some advice on if I am going about this the right way and maybe an internship with some one close by, lower coastal NC, Thank you in advance

Lisa Simpson RN, LNC