Archive for the ‘Nurse Consultant Jobs’ Category

Legal Nurse Consultant Jobs in New York – How Far Can Your Salary Go?

Rita Henry asked:




A legal nurse consultant (LNC) is a registered nurse with specialized training in matters of law. LNCs are invaluable assets to attorneys because LNCs can interpret medical records and provide expert opinions. These expert opinions can be wide-ranging but are only a small part of the array of skills a LNC brings to the legal process. Legal nurse consultants often partner with attorneys in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Their knowledge helps attorneys build sound cases for their clients. Besides reviewing medical records, LNCs can evaluate and prepare expert witness testimony, conduct medically oriented research and even testify at trial if necessary.

While working with attorneys is the mainstay of an LNC’s career, private corporations and insurance companies can also seek their services. LNCs also find work as consultants to government entities, both state and local, that are seeking to identify and reduce risk and avoid litigation. Regardless of the setting, LNCs earn highly competitive fees and salaries. One of the most important services provided by LNCs constructing a time line for the case that highlights both medical and legal milestones or issues. A time line identifies critical events in a case, putting them in a structured yet easy-to-understand format for judges, juries and other attorneys. The expertise of LNCs often helps prevent litigation failure and wins positive outcomes for clients and attorneys.

The job and salary outlook for LNCs in New York State divides neatly into two geographical areas – New York City metropolitan and nearby suburbs and upstate areas centering on cities like Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse and Binghamton. While LNCs are in demand in all these areas, the salaries can vary substantially. Here are some examples of annual salaries in New York State for LNCs:

Albany – 64,000.00
Binghamton – 66,000.00
Buffalo – 58.000.00
New York City – 89,000.00

While the salary in New York City may seem attractive, remember that New York State ranks among the top 10 in highest cost of living, most expensive housing and most expensive cost of food. Property and sales taxes are particularly high. With a median property tax of over $3000.00 per year, New York State’s property taxes are the 4th highest in the United States. Wikipedia notes that New York State has a 4% state sales tax and that all counties and some cities add local taxes ranging from 3% to 4.75%. The combined sales tax in Utica, for example, is 8.75%. In New York City, total sales tax is 8.375%. Even Buffalo, an area with a depressed economy, has a sales tax rate of 8.75%.

New York State has many recreational opportunities. The Adirondack, Berkshire and Catskill mountains are scenic and dotted with innumerable lakes, streams and rivers. The scenic Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions also offer recreational opportunities like hiking, skiing and camping. In the New York City area, you’ll find over 18,000 restaurants and 150 museums. Despite all these attractions, the prohibitive tax structure and cost of living make New York State a poor choice for LNCs, whether they are residents or are considering relocation to New York. States like Texas, New Hampshire and Minnesota offer lower costs and are attractive alternatives that LNCs should explore.

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Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Duties and Requirements

Louis Zhang asked:




The career of nursing is one of technical medical knowledge as well as compassionate people skills. The mix of the two skill sets give nurses a rare and highly valued combination of career qualifications. Beyond the scope of patient care in a clinic or location such as a hospital or long term care facility is another aspect of nursing that can be a lucrative and highly in demand career known as certified legal nurse consultant. These professionals are highly sought after by attorneys who need their expertise in the reading of medical records and interpretation of those records and how they may relate to the facts of a case under litigation.

What are the requirements to become a certified legal nurse consultant? Of course the education of a nurse and the complete licensure and accreditation of the bodies in your locale are needed, the same as for any nursing program. In addition to that nursing background there are many courses that deal with the law and the legal system that are needed to get the career change on track. If you wonder what type of degree programs are available, you can easily find them by checking online in a search. There are a large variety of programs that offer the coursework needed to make the transition from direct patient care to the court room and all of the research and preparation that will be required to testify as an expert witness when called to do so.

Some of the things that are done by certified legal nurse consultants are research and preparation of documents that can be used in a trial or proceeding to support the client’s position regarding medical claims or health issues. There are a variety of case types that can require the assistance of the nurse and those types of cases can include, worker’s compensation, medical malpractice, product liability, or personal injury claims.

Certified Legal Nurse consultant jobs are well paid and the compensation is taking in to account the hours that the professional has spent in training and preparing to present their evidence to the court. This is a career that offers a mix of medical and legal expertise, and it is a fascinating aspect of the nursing field.

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The Certified Legal Nurse Consultant – An Attorney’s Secret Weapon

Vickie Milazzo asked:




The Tragedy

Late one Friday afternoon Susan, RN, BSN, CLNC received a call from an insurance defense attorney asking her to review a plaintiff’s medical records. On Monday morning, with the deposition just 24 hours away, the attorney sent Susan four volumes of medical records documenting ten years of the plaintiff’s medical history.

Here are the facts of the case:

1. The defendant had agreed to be the designated driver when she and a group of friends went out partying.

2. On the way home from the second bar the defendant driver, who had not been drinking, hit a tree.

3. Everyone except the plaintiff had on seat belts and walked away from the accident.

4. The unrestrained plaintiff suffered a fractured vertebra that was repaired surgically.

5. He claimed the injuries sustained in the accident totally disabled him and were the sole cause of his weakness, fatigue and inability to work.

Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s Analysis Revealed a Very Different Picture

Few attorneys know how to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues to achieve the best results for their clients. A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant bridges that gap in the attorney’s knowledge. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the CLNC? consultant is the expert on nursing, the healthcare system and its inner workings.

In this case, the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s grasp of the plaintiff’s pre-existing conditions enabled her to discover that his claims of injury were suspect. His extensive medical file revealed:

- He had a long history of HIV and had complained of fatigue on several occasions.

- Prior to the accident he was on AZT, Combivir and Bacofen. These medications have
numerous side effects, including weakness, fatigue, headaches, dizziness and muscle breakdown.

- He had chronic hepatitis, which also contributed to his weakness, fatigue and malaise.

- Because of the hepatitis, his treating doctor had documented that the plaintiff was not to drink. Yet his blood alcohol level was significantly elevated when he arrived at the emergency room following the accident.

Services Offered By Certified Legal Nurse Consultants That Help Attorneys

In addition to reviewing medical records, Certified Legal Nurse Consultants:

- Identify applicable standards of care

- Develop case chronologies and timelines

- Prepare summaries of the extent of injury or illness

- Conduct research on various case issues

- Locate expert witnesses

…and many other services.

In this case, Susan interpreted the records, prepared an in-depth review of the plaintiff’s pre-existing conditions, wrote deposition questions, attended the deposition and helped prepare the attorney for mediation.

The straightforward questions she proposed came directly from her basic nursing assessment skills. Despite their simplicity, the attorney considered them strokes of genius.

During deposition the plaintiff stated that prior to the accident he was fine and had no complaints. Armed with the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s report, the defense attorney was well prepared to dispute this testimony. He used her questions to draw out inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s story:

1. Describe the onset, location, duration and severity of your pain.

2. When did these symptoms start?

3. Did you have any of these problems before the accident?

Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Saved Defendant Millions of Dollars on Settlement

Mediation was set for the next day. The plaintiff attorney stated that his client was severely injured during this accident and the defendant was responsible. He demanded $5,000,000 from the defendant above the $500,000 policy limits.
In response, the defense attorney clearly related the plaintiff’s ongoing complaints to his long history of HIV and hepatitis, the side effects of his medications and his noncompliance with his physician’s orders. As Susan had discovered, these facts had been documented in the medical record long before the accident, and his complaints were therefore not solely the result of the accident.

At this point the plaintiff attorney blurted out, “This case has been in my office for two years, and this is the first time I’ve heard this information.” He obviously had not used the services of a Certified Legal Nurse consultant.

The case settled for $10,000, a pittance compared to the initial $5,000,000 demand. “It was extremely satisfying,” Susan commented, “knowing my nursing expertise helped the defendant save millions.”

The Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Is a Specialized Member of the Litigation Team

As in this case, a Certified Legal Nurse consultant’s professional contributions are often critical to achieving a fair and just outcome for all parties. They have consulted on cases as simple as a neck injury caused by an auto accident, as high-profile as the Rodney King case and as groundbreaking as Fen-Phen, Vioxx, silicone implants and toxic mold litigation.

Attorneys rely on Certified Legal Nurse Consultants for a variety of medical-related cases including medical malpractice, personal injury, products liability, toxic tort, workers’ compensation and criminal.

Susan lives in a rural area and works from home with attorneys from several states. Certified Legal Nurse Consultants practice all over the U.S. Wherever there are attorneys, CLNC? services are needed. According to the American Bar Association, 1,116,967 attorneys are in practice today. Approximately 25 percent of these attorneys deal with medical malpractice and personal injury cases and could use a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant as their secret weapon.

Additionally, Certified Legal Nurse Consultants provide healthcare expertise for insurance companies, utilization review firms, government agencies, private corporations and hospitals both as staff members and consultants.

Certified Legal Nurse Consultants regularly report earning fees of $150 per hour. The legal nurse consulting profession allows nurses many options for establishing a satisfying and profitable part-time or full-time consulting career.

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12 Things Nursing Taught Me About Owning a Business

Vickie Milazzo asked:




Have you ever wondered whether you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur? Nurses sometimes tell me they aren’t sure if their nursing career has prepared them to start and succeed in their own legal nurse consultant practice. Yet even the most routine nursing job is full of life lessons that apply to the business world.

My first job as an intensive care nurse in a major medical center prepared me for business success. Subsequent jobs reinforced those early messages. I invite you to look closely at your own nursing career and discover the lessons that will help you succeed as a legal nurse consultant.

Success Lesson 1 — Find Your Passion and Turn It into a Business
As much as I loved my work with critically ill patients and their families, my inner voice told me I wouldn’t be working in a hospital forever. As a young nurse, the vision of myself working in the ICU at age 40, 50 or 60 just wouldn’t come into focus.

With only 6 years of nursing experience, I left the hospital and started my legal nurse consultant business. From there, I listened to my inner voice and reconnected with my first passion teaching. At age 8, I spent hours every day teaching an imaginary class. Today I am privileged to teach, coach and mentor nurses to live their career dreams. I turned my passion into a business, and since then I haven’t worked a single day.

Listen to your inner voice, and you will find your passion. Many nurses have reconnected to their passion through legal nurse consulting, a choice unknown to them before they took my program.

Success Lesson 2 – You Have the Power to Take Control of Your Career Destiny

Patients heal faster when they take control of their health and practice healthy habits. Even the smallest positive action can give a patient a sense of control and empower the healing process.

I learned this lesson time and again as I struggled to gain control of my own nursing career. Each time I refused to give in to the frustrations of working within the healthcare system and took a positive step on my own, I felt better. With every step I grew, I thrived and I came up with new ideas to further my sense of control and satisfaction.

The same is true about your career. You have the power to practice the healthy habits essential to take control of your career destiny. Educate yourself about the steps to achieving career health, including new career options like legal nurse consulting. Then take action on those steps. You really can take control of your career destiny.

Success Lesson 3 – Don’t Give in to Fear

As a nurse, I frequently treated patients who had the same progressive disease, yet experienced dramatically different outcomes. We all have known patients who lived years after their predicted demise and other patients who should have lived but didn’t because they gave up or didn’t want to live. The fact that so many elderly patients die within months of losing a spouse is a solid example of the mind-body connection. In almost every case, the patients who died too soon had given in to fear.

There’s also a mind-business connection that will influence the health of your business. When I give in to fear, I become the biggest obstacle to my success. That was true when I started my business 19 years ago. That is true today.

Fear will paralyze you instantly. Practice mind control and exercise your mind daily for positive thinking. Shake off your lack of confidence and negative thinking. Don’t wait for an MI to stop inhaling the toxic smoke of fear. Don’t let fear be the reason you don’t live your career dreams. Always remember the mind-set of the patients who live and the patients who die.

Success Lesson 4 – Nurses Can Do Anything

As nurses most of us have brought patients back to life. We all can recall at least one miracle story a case where, with our help, a patient survived against all odds.

Whenever I face a business crisis, I remind myself, “I’m a nurse and nurses can do anything.” I’ve repeated this same message for 19 years, and it has helped me overcome every obstacle.

If you can heal sick patients and handle life-threatening emergencies as easily as you make your bed in the morning, you really can do anything – especially something as straightforward as starting a business.

Success Lesson 5 – You Can’t Climb Mount Everest without Practicing on the Foothills

I had to have extensive education and training just to qualify for my first nursing job. All the lessons from that job helped prepare me for the next. Each successive nursing position required new and different skills necessitating more training and education.

The same applies to owning a business. Today I handle things easily and successfully that seemed impossible 19 years ago. But that’s because I’ve been in training for what I do now ever since I became a nurse.

If you’re frustrated with your nursing career, don’t feel like you’ve thrown your life away. No experience or job is a waste. Everything you have done has trained you to move up to the next level. Above all, don’t let the fact that you’re not trained to climb Mount Everest stop you from pursuing your dreams of becoming an independent legal nurse consultant. Your nursing training and experience was the first step. Start the next step of your training today, and you will make that climb to start your successful legal nurse consultant business.

Success Lesson 6 – The Nursing Process Is Your Friend

When I left clinical nursing, I thought I could set aside the “nursing process” forever. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Business requires that same process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. Every project I take on requires me to assess the possibilities and needs, diagnose the problems, plan how to achieve my goals, implement the plan and evaluate my results.

Your nursing jobs have prepared you well. You can apply the nursing process to any business situation and challenge. You will thank your nursing instructors for this one. Every time you review a medical-related case, interview with an attorney or face a challenge in running your business, you will rely on the process they taught you.

Success Lesson 7 – Act Quickly and Decisively

As an ICU nurse, I learned that seconds made a difference in patient outcome. That’s true for nurses in any specialty. I rarely had lots of time to ponder or brood over a clinical decision.

I have applied the same principles of acting quickly and decisively in business, too. Am I always correct? No. Do I make mistakes? Yes. Yet because of my nursing experience, I’m never paralyzed into inaction and I’ve been able to make the most of numerous opportunities I would have missed without acting quickly.

Don’t miss your chance to succeed. Learn to act quickly and decisively, and you will grow your legal nurse consultant business.

Success Lesson 8 – What You Focus on Is Where You Achieve Results

In nursing I was often overwhelmed by short staffing, heavy caseloads and lack of support from hospital administration. I soon learned to triage and focus on what I needed to do to heal patients in this less-than-ideal environment. Nursing taught me that where I focus my time is where I achieve results.

That skill comes in handy in business. It’s as important to triage and prioritize your actions in business as it is when working with patients. Every day I’m confronted with dozens of challenges, five things that must be done at once, and 20 new creative ideas for my business, but I rarely panic. The organizational and multi-tasking skills I learned as a nurse have served me well.

When you start your legal nurse consultant business, you will not receive any extra hours in the day. In fact, the days will feel shorter. Even the general public knows that working conditions for RNs are worse than ever. Your ability to focus on what’s really important under these conditions is the perfect preparation for your successful legal nurse consultant practice.

Success Lesson 9 – This Is Just Business, It’s Not Breast Cancer

Ministering to patients and family members helped me put life with all its problems and challenges into perspective. Today when I overreact to a problem or feel I’m in crisis, I think of sick and dying patients. I think, “Now fighting for your life is a REAL problem.”

In business I’ve had lots of ups and downs. When the down moments come, I remind myself, “This is business – not breast cancer.” This helps me focus positively on solving the problem rather than embarking on a pity party. I’ve thrown plenty of those “parties”, and they never helped me solve a single business problem.

As you grow your legal nurse consultant business, it helps to ask “So what if this month is not as successful as I planned?” or “So what if my best attorney-client retires?” and to remember its just business, not breast cancer.

Success Lesson 10 – Illness Can Wake You Up

As a nurse I treated many patients who only began to live after they almost died. We’ve all had patients who said they are glad they got sick, because while they were well, they weren’t living the life they wanted. The health crisis forced them to wake up, reassess their lives, decide what was truly important to them, and go for it.

Not every day is a healthy business day. Some days I wake up to a disease challenge in my business. Surprisingly, it’s the business ills and mistakes that often awaken me to creative ways of injecting my business with new life.

If your career is facing a health crisis, this is your opportunity to wake up and change things for the better. Legal nurse consulting is one way to restore the health of your career.

Success Lesson 11 – Business Is Personal

Even though technical skills are vital for an ICU nurse, the relationships with patients and their families were what mattered most to me. Those relationships paid off one day when I made a mistake. Because of our relationship, the patient requested that I continue being his nurse despite my error.

Legal nurse consulting is a service business where you will apply the same relationship principles you learned in nursing to your attorney-clients and prospects. Provide quality service and excellent work product that no other legal nurse consultant can replicate, and soon you’ll feel like you’re in a short-staffing situation all over again.

Success Lesson 12 – Healthy Patients Take Care of Themselves

We’ve all worked with healthy and unhealthy patients and we’ve seen the effects of poor health habits on the human body. The health of a pregnant woman is often dramatically reflected in the health of her offspring.

To run a successful company you must enjoy an optimal state of health. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself. I love my business, but I love myself more. After all, without a healthy me, I couldn’t muster the energy to give 110% to my clients and employees every day.

Every lesson I learned from nursing, I apply to my business today. You’ve already learned similar lessons yourself. You don’t need another hospital job to help you succeed in business. Take a moment to revel in all nursing has taught you. These lessons will multiply your success when you transfer them to your new legal nurse consulting practice.

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A Career as a Legal Nurse Consultant

Manoj Tiwari asked:




If you wish to become a nurse and are interested to work for courtrooms and emergency rooms then pursuing legal nurse programs is the best option for you.

Legal nurses utilize their health care knowledge and legal system interest to make a rewarding consulting career. Legal nurse consultants are also known to defense prosecutors or attorneys for their pharmacological or forensic familiarity to assist in determining the difficulty of civil or criminal cases. The legal nurses consult with prosecutors and others in legal field on topics related to personal injury, medical malpractice, workers compensation, etc. They are also responsible for reviewing medical records, interviewing clients, researching and processing medical literature, assisting in evaluating damages and liabilities, preparing exhibits, helping with depositions, and are considered as expert witnesses.

A legal nurse consultant often has a previous experience in emergency rooms and other disciplines and who further undergoes training at different legal nursing schools. The schools providing legal nurse programs also offer online degree coursework in personal injury, legal ethics, legal writing and forensic science to name a few. Also, you can also take dedicated classes in the legal issues about auto accident damage, medical malpractice, product liability and lower back pain.

A certified legal nurse is constantly hired to work with corporate lawyers and private attorneys. However, many of the legal court consultants are able to locate work outside the courtroom as well. You can also find work in insurance companies, hospitals and the government agencies. Many legal nurse consultants are also contracted to give quality assurance at various chemical companies and pharmaceutical firms. According to the recent salary survey by nursing management, 50% of the legal nurse’s work as a staff at insurance companies, law firms and other institutions, and they all earn similar salaries to those working as nursing administrators at the hospitals and make around $8000 a year. The rest 50% work independently and make around $100 to $150 an hour.

The jobs for them are predicted to grow in the next 10 years because many companies will introduce devices and medications that have been approved federally or have been reviewed by the governmental agencies and in courtroom. An individual does need formal training in this career to practice, and several educational and training programs are offered by community colleges, universities and various public institutions.

It is very easy to start your career in this domain because you don’t need a BSN but just require a valid RN license. Also, legal nursing experience is also not required. There are many legal nurses who are practicing in US in both urban and rural areas. Taking up legal nurse consulting as a career will not only provide you a great growth but will also open up new career prospective.

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Legal Nurse Consultant Jobs – Legal Nurse Consulting Jobs Explained

Erik R Johnson asked:




There are many different types of career options for registered nurses, including legal nurse consultant jobs. The legal nurse consultant job description is basically that of an experienced registered nurse with specialized CLNC training who can consult with clients about the various aspects of medical-related cases. Today there are many consultant degrees that revolve around this profession. Although a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is not technically required, many students get this degree before becoming registered nurses and training to become Certified Legal nurse consultants, for which there are various online and campus-based programs.

Jobs Description

It is important for many attorneys to work with a legal nurse expert from time to time. Though they are experts in the field of law, lawyers are not typically trained to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues that may affect their clients. This consulting job is very much in demand and can be quite lucrative. Attorneys may be willing to pay as much as $150 an hour for the services of an experienced CLNC that can offer expertise in the health and medical field.

Attorneys are the biggest clients for these types of consultants, both on the plaintiff and defense side, but there are many other types of clients you might work for as a CLNC. Insurance companies, healthcare facilities, government agencies and private corporations may all need to hire a legal nurse advisor from time to time. It may seem odd that a private corporation would need someone who fits this job description, but it can be quite necessary when developing corporate strategies for quality assurance, risk identification and management, evaluation and control of loss exposure.

However, the degree regarding this profession should come from accredited colleges, universities or technical schools. You must become a registered nurse and pass certification exams before you can begin working in this field. Once you start one of the many legal nurse consultant jobs, this effort will be more than worthwhile, though, as this is a lucrative career that is in demand.

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How To Choose ABA Approved Online Paralegal Degree Programs – Part I

Charles Neshah asked:




Paralegal Studies institutions approved by ABA (American Bar Association) all have the following characteristics…

Curriculum for Paralegals is usually ABA curriculum tailored towards providing you, after a successful completion of paralegal studies, the skills and opportunities of working as a lawyer’s assistant in research, document preparation, client interviews and drafting of legal documents. As a qualified paralegal your services are also required in the legal departments of corporations, firms and organizations.

Another aspect of ABA approved Paralegal program is the pre-law specialization that prepares you for the law school proper.

ABA approved Paralegal institutions offer Associate of Applied Science, Post Degree Certificate, (only those who have already obtained a bachelor or associate degree are qualified). Bachelor of Science degree on Paralegal Studies and Certificate in Legal Nurse Consulting are two other programs offered by ABA approved paralegal study institutions.

ABA approved Paralegal institution’s minimum course duration is 1 – 2 academic years and internship is mandatory in most schools.

If you are looking for ABA approved Paralegal Education Program, then the Standing Committee on Paralegals Directory of ABA approved Paralegal Education Programs is where to look.

Some work experience is usually beneficial for an intending paralegal student like you. Courses, depending on the type of institution, can run for between 2 (for community and junior colleges) to 4 years in a University. Aside from the general requirements above, the ABA Standing Committee Directory listing carry varying standard requirements for different instructions in terms of duration of course, course content and admission requirements.

Therefore, you should consider the factors favourable to you while choosing any particular school or institution.

More than 1000 institutions are offering Paralegal degree and certificate programs in the United States of America, but the ABA approved Paralegal institutions can be found at the ABA standing committee Directory of Paralegal schools.

NOTE: ABA approval for Paralegal schools or instructions is not mandatory by law so it is not a measure of the quality of or reputability of an institution that it is ABA approved, yet institutions have found it necessary to get ABA approval by meeting the ABA requirement in order to, I suppose, bluster their image. My advise is that you should go for ABA approved institutions for your paralegal studies.

Online institutions like their offline counterparts are of different categories and as such offer different qualities of course content programs. You should as a matter of fact take a critical look at the institution offering the Paralegal Degree Online program you chose. Carry out your investigation with the information below to ensure that such institution is an ABA approved paralegal degree online program.

INSIGHT INTO ABA ONLINE PARALEGAL DEGREE PROGRAMS

Paralegal degree programs prepares you for employment as a paralegal or legal assistant in a private law office and even both the public and the private sectors such as banking, insurance, real estate etc. Care must, however, be taken to ensure that a chosen school or online paralegal degree program is approved by the American Bar Association in conjunction with the institution being an institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal education (AAFPE) and other relevant regulatory bodies for Paralegal studies.

Concluding Part II will be on this same category soon.

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Attorneys! "Know When to Hire a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant"

Joyce Pope asked:




The Attorney is the expert on the legal issues and the law governing any case. The Certified Legal Nurse dose not render legal advice. The Attorney serves as the advocate, the person who pleads and urges the cause of another. Education is one of the primary roles a Consultant provides at the earliest onset of the legal case. The sooner the nurse is involved in the case the less time is spent on the case outcome. Attorneys use Consulting services both as defense and plaintiff. Other clients that use a CLNC services include, Insurance companies, Health care Facilities, Governmental agencies, and private corporations.

1. When you get a Medical and Nursing Malpractice Case

Nurses excel in cases about negligence and a professional care provider, care provided by a facility or a learning institution. Nurses excel in cases where a decision is made regarding access to health care services. In the process of gaining that access there was a delay in treatment, inappropriate use of utilization review or negligent case management.

2.When you get a General Negligence Case

Personal Injury cases that are non-health-care professionals related are considered general negligence. Personal injury cases include, but are not limited to, sports injuries, water accidents, liquor liability, aviation, railroad, auto accidents, sexual assault, or slip and fall cases.

3.When you get a Products Liability Case

Products Liability include medical or non medical manufacturers and sellers of a product to someone who purchased it and was themselves injured and or an injured bystander caused by the defective product.

4.When you get a Toxic Tort and Environmental Case

Environmental or Toxic Tort cases involving alleged damages and or injuries caused by the release of toxins into the environment, such as oil spills, lead poisoning, asbestos, pesticides and secondary smoke exposure.

5.When you get a Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Injury Case

Injuries that occur out of and in the course of employment are workplace injuries and exhibit impairment that make them unable to earn the income they made when they became injured in the same job or another job.

6.When you get a Criminal Case

Although criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the verdict must be unanimous. Some actions can be both criminal and civil. Criminal cases include acts that society has deemed contrary to the public good and is injurious to society, such as homicide, sexual and physical assault, child, spouse and elderly abuse, criminal environmental, Medicare fraud, psychiatric or rape.

7.Whenever an Attorney get a Case Where Health, Illness or Injury is in Issue

They are qualified to research topics, answer questions and assist the attorney in developing the medical-related issues of many types of cases. Additional examples of cases a Nurse can assist in are, family law, probate, disability, employee-employer wrongful dismissal, right to die, Medicare/ social security benefit, elder issues, wrongful adoption, insurance issues and including health care professional board disciplinary actions.

How Consultant’s Impact on the Legal System

We uphold standards of care for the health care community by identifying meritorious cases and communicating deviations from recognized standards. The result is improved quality of care. We identify fraudulent and non-meritorious claims and help to keep them out of the system. We help to ensure that the legal system uses scientific, medical and nursing information properly and without distortion, provide a cost effective adjunct to the litigation process.

Why?

By completing the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Certification indicates the attainment of specialized knowledge beyond the nursing degree. This process promotes quality within the nursing practice, the nursing profession and the community.We provide assistance with strategies for quality assurance, risk identification and management, evaluation and control of loss exposure.

To complete the CLNC Certification the nursing candidate:

-Masters a complex body of specialized knowledge while preparing to practice.

-Promotes excellence and standardization of the principles and practice of legal nurse consulting, a distinct professional nursing specialty.

-Demonstrates to law firms and insurance companies the successful completion of the nationally recognized training program, a division of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc.

-Gains a competitive edge over other consultants with a demonstrated level of proficiency in the field of Legal Nurse Consulting and a commitment to continuing education.

-Becomes a member of the largest legal nurse consulting association, the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC).

What is Certification?

The Certification process is administered by The Vickie Milazzo Institute, http://www.legalnurse.com/. The official certification of the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC) and the Certification were implemented in 1994. Successful consultants nationwide had input into this implementation. There are well over 7,000 National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants nationwide. This Certification is designed for registered nurses seeking the in-depth knowledge and continuing education necessary to practice in this sophisticated and rapidly changing field.

Graduates are a valuable asset

Graduates of CLNC® programs have consulted on cases ranging from simple neck injuries caused by auto accidents to high profile cases such as Rodney King and groundbreaking litigations like FenPhen, Vioxx®, silicone implants, toxic mold and more.

They are valuable assets to any Attorney faced with the confusing task of understanding and processing legal cases with multiple medical elements, medical language and alteration in health status or injuries with a time line. Understanding who may be responsible in a medical case can be very involved. Understanding Nursing /Medical expertise means having a CLNC® on your “Legal Team.” These Graduates can add to an Attorney’s insight and understanding of and the scope of practice of multiple players in the medical system. Attorneys gain clarity from the research the analytical fact data gathering skills a nurse brings to the situation. Attorneys gain a well oiled working tool to their specifications and a quality Standard of Practice. They gain insight into deviations from recognized Standards of Practice of health-care delivery system. Attorneys save time, money and efforts, and they gain an improved organization and less frustration.

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A Review of Various Nursing Programs

Morgan Hamilton asked:




There are many nursing programs available for those of you who would like to establish a career in nursing. First of all, you should ask yourself what type of nursing you want to do. There are many specialties and settings to list but here are some. Hospitals employ the greatest number of nurses and they offer them a variety of positions. A nurse has the right to chose one specific area or float throughout the house. Apart from the hospitals, nurses can find proper employment opportunities in many outpatient facilities, day surgery centers, physicians’ offices and medical clinic and schools.

If you are a nurse you can also work in long term care facilities, dialysis centers or even in corporate settings. Insurance companies, home care agencies and public health departments are also in search of employing qualified nurses. Being a nurse entrepreneur is also a possibility for those nurses who want to be their own boss. For example, you can be a legal nurse consultant and work on contract for a legal nurse consulting firm or set up your very own business in this sphere. There are hundreds of options from which you can choose the best one for you. Apart from that there are many nursing programs which main aim is to get you where you want to be.

There are many nursing programs at various levels which you can try. The first program is PN program (practical nurse) and it lasts a year, after graduation you become a licensed practical nurse or LPN. The second level of the nursing programs available is ADN – an associate degree nurse but it takes two or three years to complete it depending on the school. The Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) program takes four years and requires a more complex curriculum which includes arts and sciences, nursing management and leadership training in different settings. A BSN nurse might then complete her study and get a Master of Science in nursing (MSN) diploma. That way she would be able to specialize as a nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist. The highest level of nursing programs available is a doctorate level, as a PhD in nursing.

In any nursing program you need serious academic preparation and lots of clinical training in order to do your required course work which will give the graduates the opportunity to take the licensure exam. In case you are considering becoming a nurse in a short period of time it is best if you take a practical nursing program for LPN licensure as a beginning. Then you might progress to a RN, after that to BSN and/or MSN level. Higher education and more experience lead to better professional opportunities. Of course, the better the job is, the more you get paid for it.

However, you should think about some aspects of the nursing career. Nursing is a difficult job and sometimes it is also thankless. On the other hand, there are many rewards and endless opportunities available. All it takes is to choose a reputable nursing program which will enable you to become what you want. In case you are not sure in what area of nursing you’d like to work, then it is a good idea to ask for further information online from many nursing programs across the states. This is how you will get the right orientation and you will be able to make your best choice and start the nursing program which best fits your needs and desires.

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Is Forensic Nursing in Your Future?

Greg Cryns asked:




Forensic nursing could be described as a combination of nursing care and criminal justice. It brings nursing science into the realm if investigation of accidental injury or death. It is often connected with physical sexual abuse. In 1995 the American Nurses Association officially recognized this specialty.

Recent popular TV shows like CSI brought forensic nursing into our living rooms. People who watch that show now have an idea about how this nursing career works. It is now one of the fastest growing nursing specialties. It appeals to people who want to make a difference in their community. This is different than wanting to help individual people in a hospital setting. You would want to be community minded.

The job requires a nurse to efficiently collect evidence that will likely be used in a court of law. In addition, a forensic nurse will be called on to testify in criminal trials. This fact scares many otherwise qualified people. Most people in this profession practice as sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE). They need training to work with victims of violent crime who may or may not be cooperative with the nurse. Forensic nurses are patient advocates and as such are called into courts to testify on behalf of their patients.

Courses you will need may include Rape Trauma Syndrome, Continuum of Care, Crime Lab Kit, Photography, STD’s, Death Investigation, Evidence Collection, Serology & DNA Analysis, Advocate/Police Roles, Profiling of Sexual Offenders, Expert Witness Testimony and learning about the judicial system and laws.

If you have an interest in criminal justice and nursing and you can handle testimony, this might be the perfect career for you.

Since this is possibly a one year certificate program, a registered nurse (RN) may be attracted to forensic nursing as a change of pace to possibly revitalize their main interest in nursing. Kaplan University offers an online Masters degree.

Some specialties that are available include legal nurse consulting, death investigation, sexual assault nursing and community education.

How much do forensic nurses earn?
Keep in mind that many forensic nurses are employed by hospitals. There are many variables that determine how much money you would make. The hospitals pay a minimal amount for “on call” time. When the action starts you could earn $25-$100 per hour. It is reasonable to assume that a nurse will earn more money in this career due to the advanced education required.

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