Nursing today is no longer limited to working in hospitals and long-term care facilities. There are now a number of opportunities available for those looking to enter the nursing field. Consultations with legal nurses are increasingly popular.
A legal consultant nurse works with attorneys and others to understand medical records, medical terminology, and health issues’ intricacies. For becoming a legal nurse consultant, you must be a registered nurse, have several years of experience, and be a good communicator.
What is a legal nurse consultant?
A legal consultant nurse is a licensed registered nurse. It means that your state has awarded you a certificate that allows you to practice nursing in the United States.
Legal nurse consultants operate in several settings, such as private consulting practices, legal firms, insurance companies, etc.
Is there any experience requirement?
You must obtain at least three years of professional experience in a medical center to become a legal nurse. It includes doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers.
It is essential to have this experience because once you become a legal nurse consultant, you will need to be able to explain medical and health issues to people in the legal profession, such as lawyers. You must be capable of talking knowledgeably about the field.
Is LNCC (Legal Nurse Consultant Certified) exam mandatory?
You will need to take the LNCC (Legal Nurse Consultant Certified) exam if you want to deepen your career in the field. Other jurisdictions have different requirements.
Although it is not mandatory, it is recommended that any registered nurse who wishes to become a legal nurse consultant takes a training course to present and prepare her for the field. This course will also introduce legal terminology, risks associated with healthcare management, and civil litigation.
Legal nursing courses are offered at various colleges and can often be given in departments of health sciences and nursing schools.
There are some online programs as well that you can participate in that allow you to listen to presentations, read manuals, listen to the audio of conference sessions, and access other information.
What are the common tasks, duties, and career descriptions of legal nurse consultants?
Legal nurse consultants execute a vigorous and diverse role. They use their expertise in numerous legal practice areas that are recurrently evolving as medical science, healthcare, and legal practice change. The AALNC (American association of legal nurse consultants) categorizes the subsequent practice areas for LNCs:
- Medicare set-asides
- Medical malpractice
- Regulatory compliance
- Personal injury
- Long-term care litigation/elder law
- Product liability
- Toxic tort
- Risk management
- Civil rights
- Workers’ compensation
- Employment discrimination
- Forensic/criminal
- Life care planning
Legal nurse consulting authorities you to work independently and with various types of people, and entails that you perform well under pressure. In spite of the work environment, LNCs carry out many specialized roles that include:
- Reviewing and analyzing medical records
- Educating attorneys about medical issues
- Conducting client interviews
- Serving for the legal team as a jury consultant
- Identifying and securing expert witnesses
- Producing exhibits for trials and depositions
- Translating the terminology of healthcare for lawyers and other legal professionals
- Identifying medical professional standards of practice
- Conducting a medical literature review
- Preparing for depositions and trials
- Consulting on product liability cases
- Providing authentication as an expert witness in court
Legal nurse consultants must accept only such cases in which they have a solid and sound clinical foundation. The legal nurse consultant accomplishes many tasks on behalf of the legal team and its clientele.
A focus on medical-surgical or critical care nursing can prepare the LNC to address issues related to a broad range of legal cases. Legal nurse consultants may also have specialized nursing experience, including orthopedics, obstetrics, neurology, cardiology, oncology, and rehabilitation.
Things you need to become a legal nurse consultant.
A legal nurse consultant must become a registered nurse first. To become a registered nurse often in addition to clinical experience requires a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree. Registered nurses must also receive a nursing license to practice in their state. However, before going into legal consulting, many legal nursing consultants don’t have any legal experience.
According to the AALNC (American association for legal nurse consultants), prospective consultants can acquire the requisite legal background in several aspects by undertaking a nurse consulting curriculum or a parallel program, attending legal workshops, or working with advocates.
Legal nurse consultants should also:
- Be able to analyze data objectively, such as medical reports.
- Extremely cautious and detail-oriented.
- Possessing essential medical expertise and knowledge.
- Reading, investigating, and publishing relevant project details.
A legal nurse consultant must also take effective language lessons. Legal nurses’ consultants are sometimes expert witnesses in legal affairs and will have to take the stand. Having excellent communication will help you speak articulately and sound more believable. Effective language classes will help you with strategies or to stay calm and not get flustered when on the witness stand.
One must decide what area of legal nurse consultation you want to do. You can work in insurance companies, law enforcement, as a forensic nurse, or even as a nursing home consultant. Each area of legal nurse consultants has important aspects to learn and take into consideration. Knowing which area you want to participate in will greatly help you be successful in your field.
If you are willing to become a legal nurse consultant, you should:
- Obtain the education and experience needed in your state for becoming a registered nurse.
- Become accredited as a registered nurse.
- Find a good job and apply for it as a registered nurse.
- Undertake a drug test and a background check
- You will be interviewed.
- Get employed as a legal nurse consultant.
- Get job training once you are hired.
Other Helpful Skills and Experience.
Candidates must have a good knowledge of physiology and anatomy, medical procedures, and legal terminology. Prospective consultants must have extensive clinical and nursing experience.
For the Legal Nurse Consultant Certification (LNCC), provided by the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board, those legal nurse consultants who have at least 2000 hours of experience in the field are eligible to apply.
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