Motivation. What do you think of when you hear this word? Energy. Drive. Success. Yes, all of these. Let’s talk about motivating yourself in your nursing career to achieve more, and therefore, to earn more money, more accolades, and more time for the things in life you want. Like having extra spending money, getting to go on that long-awaited vacation, buying that pricey pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing.
How do you get from where you are in your current nursing job to where you want to be in your career?
Breaking down the four steps of motivation success 1. Create your goals. Have you said any of these to yourself? “I became a nurse to do good. I want to earn more using my nursing skills. I want to be the best version of myself”. You can achieve meaningful goals. For example, your goal might be: I want to improve my nursing skill set so I can earn more money.
Decide on the front end what you want to achieve. This way you’ll know when you get there. Don’t let that dictate how much or how often you pursue your goals. There’s more to life than merely setting goals. (We’re going to explore that next).
2. Develop simple steps to achieve your goals. Have a Plan. Not just any old plan, but a simple, yet straight-forward plan that you’re willing to try.
This means you must prioritize what’s important and do that first. As it’s been said “Done is better than perfect”. For example, sticking with your same goal of “I want to improve my skill set so I can earn more money: Plan: I’ll search online three nursing certification programs. Since I’m interested in being a legal nurse consultant, I’ll email the contact for each one. Then, I’ll follow up if I haven’t heard back from them.
3. Manage your time. We all have 24 hours in a day. Take out 8 or so hours for sleep and we’re left with 16 hours to make a difference in our lives. Tell yourself you’re going to use those 16 hours to the best of your ability. Already working a full-time job? Then there’re less hours left in the day. Don’t waste them. Sticking with our example: Use 10 minutes here or 30 minutes there to check your emails, call the legal nurse consultant program, or if you’re already a PLNC, take 30 minutes or an hour to review those medical records for your attorney-client as a PLNC. One hour of your legal nurse consultant time equals $150.
4. Reward yourself. As you complete a step in your plan, reflect on your accomplishment (or even your failure). That’s how we learn. We ALL have to overcome setbacks in order to move forward. For example, you registered for the Professional Legal Nurse Consultant Certification program. Log into it and look around at the online program. Get a feel for it knowing you’re on your way to achieving your goal!
You want to keep your motivational drive going so tell that grey matter inside your head what you want it to do. Now, go do it!
P.S. Want more motivation from someone who’s been where you are? Book an appointment with Elizabeth Rudolph, JD, MSN, RN, PLNC here.
Good news! Professional Legal Nurse Consultants (PLNC) handleall kindsof cases. There are approximatey 1.32 MILLION attorneys in the United States according to the American Bar Association. That’s a lot of lawyers who could use your skills. There are at least 16 different types of legal cases you could work on.
You’re a nurse. You’re qualified to be a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant. Let’s look at the legal nurse consultant benefits you’ll get when you use your nursing skills in legal cases. You get to be valued for your nursing and acquired legal knowledge and you earn money doing it.
Let’s talk about the sixteen types of cases you’ll be able to work on as a PLNC Medical Malpractice: By far, this is the most common type of case you’ll work on. You’d be surprised how often medical and nursing malpractice comes up in every day clinical practice. We’re talking “negligence”. When a professional nurse commits “negligence” it’s considered “medical malpractice” and, even more specifically, it’s called “nursing malpractice”. Who better than you to review the medical record when “nursing malpractice” is at issue?
Personal injury: You’ve heard the television commercials for car wrecks, slip and falls, liability at establishments. Inevitably, the individual will claim a personal injury. Often this is in addition to property damage. For example, in an automobile accident, the rear-ended driver could have both personal injury and property damage. You’d be reviewing the relevant medical records both past and present.
Product liability: As nurses, you’ve administered medications and used durable medical equipment. Well, these products can potentially cause harm. In addition, your everyday consumer products also fall into this category.
Toxic tort: Tort cases are basically negligence cases. Hazardous materials, lead poisoning, and radiation are examples of toxic materials that can be a part of a negligence case.
Criminal defense: This is when someone is charged with a crime. Potential cases you might find yourself reviewing are driving under the influence (DUI), assault and/or battery, just name a couple. There are various stages of charging including arrest, arraignment, grand jury investigation, plea bargain and/or trial. Even appeal. Often times there are accompanying medical records that need reviewing.
Elder Law: This area of the law has seen significant increases in recent years. Elder law includes anything from elder abuse and neglect to an estate contest, advanced directive, or even a conservatorship. Your job is to review the medical records and give your opinion.
Workers’ Compensation: The goal of workers’ compensation laws is that of wage replacement and to provide medical benefits when an employee is injured during the job. There are specific workers’ compensation courts that handle these types of cases. You’re integrally involved as the medical benefit is central to the case.
Social Security Disability: When an individual makes a claim for supplemental security income, the medical evidence is critical to their case. There could be medical records from multiple providers to be reviewed.
Probate: Often contests on the decedent’s state of mind might be at issue in a last will and testament contest, a living will, or even a durable power of attorney for healthcare. The healthcare providers medical records will need to be carefully looked at in order to make this determination.
Juvenile Justice: This area of the law revolves around children and adolescents. Not only could it involve crimes, but child welfare as well. The juvenile court system is usually separate from that of adults.
Family Law: Domestic relationships can include issues including violence, custody, adoption, guardianship, surrogacy, and paternity to name a few. As a result, there are numerous medical records to review.
Healthcare Law: The fun thing about this area of the law is that it largely centers around laws, regulations, and public policies. At issue could be access to health care, perhaps food or drug regulation, and other manner of medically-related issues.
Pro Bono: “Pro bono public” translates into for the public good. This refers to legal services rendered to those unable to pay. As a PLNC, you may be able to assist an attorney in pro bono matters.
Litigation: Litigation is broken down into two categories: civil and criminal. Lawsuits involve individuals and/or business entities. Litigation can go on for short or long periods of time. Often, the parties opt to settle the matter in order to resolve it.
eDiscovery: With the advent of technology, finding out about each other’s cases has become much easier. “Discovering” the other side’s facts and theories is done through electronic requests. Plus, the medical record is usually provided in its digital format making it able to sent via email to you to review. As with any electronic data, there could be texts, emails, images, and metadata to review in addition to the electronic health record.
Administrative Law: This refers to disciplinary action. For licensed healthcare providers, such as nurses, the Board of Nursing has the ability to proceed with disciplinary action against a nurse. Often the issue is related to nursing care.
There’re so many areas of practice where you can make a difference. Be open. And, you’ll broaden your skill-set.
Kylan Knoll, RN, PLNC, tells us her story about why she got her certification as a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC). Kylan explains she met some attorneys and the field of legal nurse consulting was something she was interested in. It bridges the gap between the medical arena into the legal arena. Being a PLNC gave Kylan to ability to explain in layperson’s terms what was going with the patient (and get paid for it!).
I overcame my fears
Initially, I was scared to take a certification course. I helped a friend do a medical record review and we needed a way to make sense of everything and the legal jargon. I researched legal nurse consultant certification courses and I came across the JurexNurse.com video of Elizabeth explaining the course. I took the PLNC course. I’m so glad I did!
The PLNC Certification course was well organized
All the information was in the course. You really evolve into practicing as a legal nurse consultant. The course is structured and organized and teaches how to get the message across in a concise way to attorneys. We, as clinicians, like to put every little detail down. I learned in the course how to pack details into an overall highlighted way. The attorneys want to know are the merits of the case. Are they easily recognizable and do we have the supporting documentation? I learned this in the PLNC Certification course.
Practicing as a PLNC
I finished the course with confidence and tools. It was amazing! I took advantage of the JurexNurse.com marketing materials and that gave me a really big boost. I was able to take this to the next level. And, I am taken seriously because I had the certification and some knowledge of the legal process that I could incorporate into my interpretations.
P.S. You don’t have to know attorneys to be a successful PLNC. That’s what the Jurex Expert Directory is for. Comment below.
You’ve just been given 194 pages of medical records to review as a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC). What do you do first? Just follow these six EASY steps and you’ll have them knocked out in no time. Don’t worry. Follow this path each and every time whether you’re working on a medical malpractice case, personal injury matter, or social security disability claim.
Six Easy Steps to Help You Dissect the Medical Records
Read the email instructions. Be sure to re-read the email so you don’t miss a deadline.
Write down the sections by name and include page numbers. You can expect there’ll be Nurses Notes, Medication Administration Record, and the like. Separate by section and include exact page numbers.
Read the pages. This time for content. Content is king.
Notate missing documents. Invariably, there are missing documents you’d expect to be included in the medical records.
Take notes. You’re going to be compiling your legal nurse consultant report, so jot down important facts.
Write up your report. The legal nurse consultant merit review is not necessarily lengthy, it’s the content that matters.
You’ve been reading electronic health records in your every day nursing practice. Apply that nursing knowledge here.
P.S. Have you ever read a medical record and realized a document was missing? Comment below.
As a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) you’re a KEY part of the legal team! Your role is in LITIGATION SUPPORT, which is an essential part of the case. No matter what side of the case you’re on, your PLNC services are needed!
It’s good to know expert witnesses are required in medical malpractice lawsuits. This means there’ll always be a need for your PLNC services.
Your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant Services up close You can provide lots of services for attorneys. Below are the top ten services you’ll get to use as a PLNC:
Assist with communication. You’re on board to simplify and explain the nursing and medical care to the legal team.
Educate. The individuals who need to be educated are the attorney, judge, jury, and members of the legal team. In PLNC practice this could mean tutoring the attorney about the case.
Research. It’s so much easier than in the past. No need to go to the library when you can do an internet search. Don’t forget to ask to review the policy and procedure manuals.
Review, Analyze, and Summarize. Read the medical records, analyze what’s relevant, and then summarize them. It’s that simple.
Assess Damages. Look for the cause of the damages. Remember there could be other contributing factors.
Liaison with Other Experts. Who better than you to locate other experts? You’re the liaison among all the expert witnesses.
Interview Witnesses. Sometimes you’ll need to interview witnesses and then explain what you’ve gleaned to your attorney.
Draft Documents. “Draft” is just a glorified word for “writing” or “compiling” documents. You can use forms.
Assist with Case Strategies. One of your skills is the ability to come up with questions that need to be answered. Plus, you can incorporate new, or spot missing, information.
Provide Support. From preparing witnesses to assisting with trial prep, your PLNC will be put to good use.
There you have it. The top ten PLNC services you can provide, and get paid for, to attorneys.
P.S. Be sure you get our FREE Guide to hike your income as a PLNC!
WATCH the video so you can be successful as a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC). Let’s quickly cover the 5 tips you need to be a successful PLNC. In the video, you’ll get takeaways you can use today. It’s well worth your time!
Five Tips To Be A Successful Professional Legal Nurse Consultant
Take initiative. Constanty evaluate yourself and your performance. This is the best way to achieve career success. Pitch new solutions. Be willing to take on more projects. (You get paid by the hour, so why not?).
Use your nursing experience to generate income as a Registered Nurse. It’s quality not quantity. Years of experience don’t matter as much as the types of clinical experience you’ve had.
Continuing nursing education and development. The pursuit of nursing knowledge is what matters. If you don’t know something, look it up.
Communicate your skills as a legal nurse consultant (+Bonus Tip). You’ll be interacting with the entire legal team: attorneys, clients of attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and othersl
Give attention to detail. The big picture is important, but don’t forget to focus on the details. Sometimes a chronology is useful when there’re a lot of facts.
Ask yourself “Would I hire me?” if I were this attorney.
You’re the “expert” and as a PLNC you’re valued for your expertise.
P.S. Want to expand your income, get our FREE Guide here.
