by Elizabeth Rudolph | Oct 21, 2021 | Legal Nurse Consulting, Marketing
When you think about owning your own Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) business, it gets you EXCITED! It should. As a nurse, you should be in control of your own nursing career. Stocking and decorating your home office is both fun and exciting. Think about getting the following pieces of equipment. You don’t need a lot to get started after obtaining your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) Certification.
A good home office will have essential items for keeping your PLNC business successful. There are, of course, costs associated with the purchase of office equipment. Therefore, you should be mindful of the most important things you need. Depending on your financial situation, you may decide to gradually build upon the equipment in your home office. Again, it is up to you to decide what is essential for your home office; the following is a list of some of the things you might consider:
HOME OFFICE EQUIPMENT
- Computer – MAC or PC does not make a difference. It’s really what you feel most comfortable with. You may choose to use a laptop as opposed to a desktop computer. A laptop will afford you the luxury of working away from home or perhaps at a client’s office when they cannot provide office or equipment space to you. Computer Modem – This will help you connect to the internet when WIFI is otherwise unavailable. You may even decide to purchase a WIFI hot spot.
- Computer Software – Choose computer software that will allow you to create a variety of documents such as Word, PDFs, Excel, and Invoices. Microsoft Office is one such software that allows this. Weigh your options before purchasing.
- Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax Machine – There are many printers that have multiple functions. Getting an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier/fax machine will likely save you time and money.
- Mobile phone – Get the latest and greatest. You don’t want to have to keep replacing your mobile phone. When clients want to reach, you need to be able to accept their phone calls, emails, and/or texts.
- Website – Setting up a company website is a good marketing tool! There are many companies that offer quick, easy website setups that look nice. Depending on the amount of money you have to spend, you may also wish to go with a professional web designer to create a site for you.
- File Cabinet/Files – Information can be stored on a computer, but it is good archival practice to back up all data on a disk or have paper copies.
- Business Cards – Tried but true – these small pieces of paper are also a great marketing tool and direct clients to all the information on your business. Be sure the layout, color, font, and design is professional. Don’t forget to add your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) Certification credential. It’ll lend you credibility.
Decide what you want and what you need to get started and to stay successful. You’re in control of your own Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) destiny.
P.S. What home office equipment did you decide to get?
by Elizabeth Rudolph | Jun 29, 2021 | Legal Nurse Consulting, Marketing
Your resume is your opportunity to shine. This means you should showcase your talents. It’s not being boastful when you put your truth out there. Every Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) needs to do this!
Let’s go over 11 tips to make your resume STAND OUT!
Gear your resume to the job. This means to be strategic. You’re not going to use the same resume for every job to which you apply. You’re going to emphasize the important items to show how you’re the perfect fit for the job!
Use a readable format. Do not use more than two different fonts. Usually, Times New Roman, is used for resumes. In all cases, be sure it’s 12 point font.
Contact information needs to be easily accessible. After all, you want the attorneys to reach you for your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) services. Make it EASY for them to find you. Put all your contact information at the top and center it.
For example:
First and Last Name (if you go by a different name, include it)
Credentials (highest degree to lowest degree and your PLNC Certification)
Address (or even just your city and state)
Phone number (provide the phone you’re really going to answer)
Email (make sure it sounds professional)
Don’t include a statement of objectives or summary paragraph. Your cover letter is the place for that. Your resume is the place for you to be concise. Nobody wants to read a paragraph in a resume.
Use bullet points judiciously. Bullet points help guide the reader. Not everything needs bullet points. Just be sure you eliminate lengthy paragraphs.
Your education comes first. After your contact information, of course. Put your highest education achieved on top and work your way down. Be sure you include your degree obtained by spelling it out. Don’t assume the reader will know the initials of your degree.
All dates should be flush right. Dates are not necessarily critical but need to be included so put them to the right. That way, the information you put on the left side of the page will stand out.
Employment listed in reverse chronological order. Your most recent employment should be listed first and subsequent employment listed in descending order.
For example:
City Medical Center, Memphis, TN 2018-present
Staff Nurse (R.N.)
• Provide nursing care to patients in a 20 bed Medical Intensive Care unit
• Include your job duties here
Certifications are listed separately. Your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) Certification is listed under “Certifications”. You want the reader to know you have obtained your PLNC Certification. Be sure you don’t just list it under “Education” where it’ll get lost.
If you can’t keep your resume to one page, put a header on each page. This means you put your name and page number on each page. If the pages get separated, the reader will still know the pages belong to your resume.
Licensure is important. Be sure you have a separate line item for “Licensure”. You might be licensed as a “Registered Nurse” in a compact state or in more than one state. Be sure you list this.
Your overarching strategy is to keep your resume glowing, straight forward, and easy to read. Your goal? To get the Professional Legal Nurse Consultant job.
P.S. Go over your resume and be sure you included our resume tips.
by Elizabeth Rudolph | Jun 17, 2021 | Legal Nurse Consulting, Marketing
Are you a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) or do you want to become one? Either way, the process of helping each other is within us all. We just need to activate it.
Let’s look at Mentoring from both sides: Being the mentor or being the mentee.
Mentor: someone you trust and value their experience.
Mentee: someone who receives guidance from a mentor.
Now, let’s apply these in our everyday life whether or not you’re a PLNC or plan to become one.
Mentor: As a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant, it’s important to have a mentor. Someone who has walked the path before you and is willing to guide you. Questions come up not just at the beginning of your PLNC practice, but along the way. It’s essential to have a mentor you can trust.
A mentoring relationship can come in all different shapes and sizes. For example, here at Jurex Center for Legal Nurse Consultants, EVERY PLNC Certification Course comes with mentoring. When you annually renew your PLNC Certification, you continue to keep the mentoring program.
Why is mentoring so helpful? The legal professional world is full of new concepts and experiences. As a PLNC, you’re expected to navigate these. Being able to ask your mentor for guidance can help you grow and develop your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant practice.
For example, the attorney whom you are working might ask you to “draft some interrogatories”. You can easily ask your mentor, what this means. Your mentor will be able to explain this in easy-to-understand language. Then, you’ll be in a great position to fulfill the attorney’s assignment.
Mentee: Being a good mentee is as important as being a good mentor. Utilize the mentoring program so that you can become the best version of your PLNC self.
It’s been said “when the student is ready the teacher will appear”, has been attributed to Buddha and perhaps others. Take this quote to heart.
You want to be a responsible mentee. One who values your mentor’s time and attention. Remember, being a mentor is a volunteer job. So, being respectful and organized will infinitely enhance your mentor-mentee relationship.
There are formal as well as informal mentors out there. Find one that best fits your needs. Be sure you follow through. It’s a two way street.
You attorney can also serve as your mentor. Attorneys are used to working with and helping others. Use your observation skills we were taught as a nurse. Watch, look, and listen to see how others interact and model your own behavior accordingly.
It’s also helpful to join the Professional Legal Nurse Consultant Community Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/professionallegalnurseconsultantcommunity. Here you can learn and interact with others who have successfully traveled the same path.
Whether you choose to be a mentor or a mentee, or both, it’s up to you. You make the difference. You show up. You are prepared. You get the most you can out of your mentoring relationship. In other words, mentoring is what you make it!
P.S. What’s been your best mentoring experience?
by Elizabeth Rudolph | May 11, 2021 | Legal Nurse Consulting, Marketing
Attorneys face challenges all day. Every. Day. That’s why they want to hire Professional Legal Nurse Consultants (PLNC) to review their medical records for them.
An Electronic Health Record (EHR) can read much like a foreign language. It’s critical for lawyers to use Professional Legal Nurse Consultants to translate it and put it into layperson’s language.
That’s where you, the PLNC, enter the picture. As a PLNC, you’re trained to read medical records. You have the skills to interpret them. This means you’re valued to an attorney for the multiple skills you bring to the table.
Let’s dig deeper as to why attorneys want to hire Professional Legal Nurse Consultants:
Your nursing knowledge and PLNC training, combined, assist lawyers in their cases. That’s why attorneys want to hire you to review medical records in cases. Most attorneys don’t have nursing experience; that’s why they want to hire you, the PLNC!
Even if your nursing background is in a specific area, you could impart knowledge in all kinds of cases. Whether you’re reviewing a fall case or even a dehydration case, you have been taught the basic nursing knowledge. You may have specialized in this type of nursing practice so reviewing those issues are no problem. On more technical issues, you may either have acquired that knowledge and experience, or you may defer to others who’ve practiced specifically in that field. Knowing your limits is important, but don’t arbitrary impose them.
You know the standard of care or you can easily find it out. Nursing experience has probably taught you a lot. Use that to your advantage. Share it with the attorney on the cases you’re working on. It could lead to you being asked to work on more cases.
You’ve reviewed other medical records and know what you’re looking for. Whether this is your first case as a PLNC or your fifty-first case, you’re familiar with electronic health records. Professional Legal Nurse Consultants know how to read and interpret EHRs.
Research is second nature to you. It’s not like it used to be when you had “research” something by going to the library. You can easily find helpful and essential information on the internet and even right on your phone.
The PLNC Certification means you’ve successfully completed the course. It lends credibility to you and your nursing skills. It means you can blend your skills with the law. That’s awesome!
Your communication skills are tried and true. You can use active and passive listening skills to your advantage. Whether you’re talking with a potential client of the law firm or giving your opinion to the legal team at a conference table, your communication skills are honed.
Teamwork is part of your knowledge base. Being a nurse, you understand how teams work. You use those same talents being a valued member of the legal team.
Your work product is superb and timely submitted. When you get a case assigned to you by the attorney, you ask when the assignment is due. In the PLNC Certification Course, you’re trained to ask that. No surprises. You know exactly what’s expected of you and you perform.
You’ve got the PLNC credential, the nursing skills, and the excitement. That’s why attorneys want to hire YOU!
P.S. Let us hear from you.
by Elizabeth Rudolph | Dec 15, 2020 | Legal Nurse Consulting, Marketing
The FIRST STEP to set up your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) business development plan is selecting a name for your business. This is definitely the fun part because it’s the first time you’ll establish a link between yourself and your clientele!
Ask yourself: What do I want my clients to think of when they hear my business name?
Do I have a strong first or last name that would not only connect to my clients, but also express what my company is about?
Try these ideas:
- Write down words that describe who you are and what your business is about. Consider business names that’ll jump out and connect to your business via internet searches.
- You want your business name to be catchy, professional, and easy to remember (especially when it comes to referrals).
- Use a thesaurus to change the words you’ve come up with into others that’ll give that spark to your business name.
For example, if you’re starting a cleaning service, you’d want your business name to contain buzz words associated with cleaning. As we brainstorm, let’s write down ideas that come to mind when cleaning: spotless, shine, tidy, no mess, clean, and bright.
It’s also important to think of some words that may also address your prices.
Let’s brainstorm and write down some words that might suggest pricing: cheap, low-cost, free, and fair.
Now, the last stage would be to think of some things that you would like in your business name that may reflect who you are, so let’s brainstorm that describe who you are that also are great reflections of your business: thorough, careful, strong, meticulous, focused, or even your last (Doe) or first (Jane) name.
Let’s play around with some of the words we’ve written down and combine them to see how they might sound for your business name: Jane’s No-Mess & Low Cost Cleaning Service; Careful Fair Tidy Cleaning; or Thorough Shine Cleaning.
Remember as a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC), you want your clients to feel they’re hiring a skilled professional, so sometimes something as simple as Doe Professional Legal Nurse Consultants will suffice.
P.S. Find out how to elevate your nursing career quickly here.
by Elizabeth Rudolph | Oct 29, 2020 | Marketing
Here’s a sneak peek into my brand new eBook on how we Professional Legal Nurse Consultants (PLNC) are really Entrepreneurs. As Entrepreneurs, we can learn from those successful Entrepreneurs who came before us.
You can buy it here.
Here’s a snippet from Lesson One my new eBook Rise Up! Ten Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know:
Chapter 1
Reinventing Yourself
Do you have that entrepreneurial spark? Are you driven to create a better life for yourself and your family on your own terms? If you answered “yes” to either question, you need to keep reading.
I wrote this book to help you help yourself. To encourage you to realize your dream and overcome obstacles in your way. Why? Because I did it and you can do it, too!
Many individuals want to open a business but don’t know where to start. The book you are about to read contains recipes for success, words of wisdom you can actually use, and real-life examples of successful entrepreneurs.
It’s written through the eyes of my friends, entrepreneurs just like you, who have mastered the trials and tribulations of starting, and succeeding, in their own businesses…
Life and the path to success are not clean, straight lines. Rather, our journey is likely to include switchbacks, detours, wrong turns, and rough terrain.
Our ability to adapt to these ever-changing conditions is what allows us to get where we want to be.
Sometimes, that means we need to look at who we are, what we want, and where we are going, then make decisions that will forever alter our path.
Simply put, we must reinvent ourselves.
The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself. ~ Tony Robbins
Buy it HERE.
