Took her Course in 2004

Published

Hi:

I live in Canada and took Vicki's course in 2004 with a nursing colleague. I liked Vicki and did learn some useful tips about LNCing. BUT, doing this is not necessary. Learn from reading...the AALNC is a legitimate and respected organization...very professional. I found the rah-rah antics of Vicki's seminar almost embarrassing and tolerated it to learn. As a LNC in Canada, I charged $200 an hour for my consulting services, and lawyers pay this with barely a blink. Docs earn around $400-$500 per hour. HOWEVER....it cannot be counted on as sole income. Cases are sporadic. I am an obstetrical expert and the cases are there, but, most firms have someone they use all the time and it is hard to break in. I earn maybe $5000-$17,000 a year at best. I do not "advertise"...it is unseemly up here to do so and not seen as very professional, really. Lawyers find consultants by word of mouth, mostly, although I did cold-call some and received cases.

Some nurses MAY make a living at this....but, it is NOT reliable. Cases may be "active" for years, but, the nurse may have very little to do or charge for in those years.

Lawyers want someone who is expert in a particular field...a nurse cannot opine on ANY case....OR nurse, OB nurse, ER nurse....you are only credible in your own area of expertise. Most lawyers in Canada would NEVER hire a nurse who would be ripped apart on cross if ever a case went to trial....you have to be expert in a specialty to be hired to review a case. If a lawyer did hire ,say, a med-surg RN to review an OB case, he or she must be VERY inexperienced.

I was very disappointed when VMI decided that you had to take THEIR education programs to recertify....used to be able to do it if you took ANY LNC-type course. I did the AALNC annual conference in 2006 and that was acceptable. I think they saw they were losing money and changed their requirements. Also, what VMI offers is NOT CERTIFICATION...it is a CERTIFICATE. Certfiying requires years of experience and proven competence...then writing an exam and maintaing mandatory continuing ed. They should re-name it. But, again, here in Canada, lawyers do not care about it...so, save your money. BUT...educate yourself and know a bit about the legal world and how to write opinions before taking your first case!!!! You and the lawyer will be glad you did!

I have not recertified since the rules were changed making it necessary to take ONLY VMI courses to obtain recertification. And, I have not suffered for it.

M

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Welcome to the site.

Thank you for your valuable input. I agree with you 100%!

I look forward to reading more of your posts.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Hello and welcome to allnurses.com

I, too, agree with a lot of what you have said here.

Every LNC must be sure that their BON (in the US) accept CEUs they take to continue their RN license. My state only accepts continuing education and/or certification from AALNC. So, all need to be aware of this before spending time and/or money to take LNC courses and/or CEUs for license upkeep.

Also, right now, it is not necessary for any RN to take courses to practice as an LNC. I look for this to change one day, but for now, formal education is not required to practice as an LNC.

I personally do not endorse any entity for LNC education, but I do highly suggest purchasing and reviewing the current text from the AALNC (Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles & Practice)Frequently Asked Questions - American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC)

Again, welcome to the site and agree with tnbutterfly, look forward to more of your posts.

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Thank you so much for posting! I look forward to reading more :)

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Specializes in GI/GU surg,Pacu, ct surg, home care, NH.

I am currently taking a LNC course online through the center for legal studies.

The main reason is because I've noticed a few LNC job postings in my area NYC/LI that asked for a certificate not certification but a certificate. I had already purchased the above mentioned books and the program is based on the AALNC books. I def agree you definitely don't need to spend the $5,000 and up that VMI charges you will be lucky if you even recoup that costs within your first year. The course I'm taking is $895, I figure I can add LNC certificate program to my resume and hopefully through the professor I can network and find cases.

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