You probably have a pretty good idea of what a hospital or clinical nurse faces every day, but what about a legal nurse consultant? Do legal nurse consultants (CLCNs) work in hospitals too? Are they stuck in a lawyer’s office or courtroom all day? Do they work with their noses buried in medical law books?
Not quite. We’re going to lay it all out for you right here.
Since legal nurse consultants consult on medical-related cases, they start each day much like lawyers and insurance companies start their day: researching, preparing, and/or writing reports – only they do these things from home or from a rented office. They either review medical reports created the day before, or they prepare new reports depending on a cases’ deadline.
Find an RN to BSN degree online
Because they work independently, they generally set their own schedule. The legal nurse works similar to the way other independent contractors work – contingent upon deadlines and emergency work assignments.
Other daily tasks entail screening cases, finding experts, and interviewing clients in person, making the means and time to travel a necessity. In fact, a significant portion of the day could be filled with traveling to various locations in an effort to collect testimonials, witness reports, evidence, and/or equipment. Medical records additionally need to be collected and analyzed to ensure they support a case – a process that could fill up an entire workday.
At the side of an attorney, the CLCN will draft legal documents and help develop case strategies. But since the whole premise of the legal nurse consulting job is to facilitate communication between a lawyer or legal team and a client, and because lawyers aren’t familiar with healthcare protocol, the legal nurse consultant may additionally spend some time educating attorneys about what differentiates standards from legitimate cases of neglect.
Inside the courtroom or arbitration case, the CLCN can act as a witness and provide necessary testimonial.
Note that although the jobs are somewhat similar, a CLCN’s day isn’t filled with the tasks of the paralegal. The paralegal generally works for a specific company where the CLCN works for himself or herself. That means that in addition to all the tasks associated with legal consultancy, the day is filled with self-promotion as well. The CLNC must take time to advertise, update skills, and secure contracts – basically everything that the typical entrepreneur does to attract a steady flow of business.
So what do you think? Does this sound like a day you’d like to experience? If so, register for an online RN nursing program. No BSN required!
More information on Legal Nursing Consultants
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.