During legal cases nursing consultants use their expertise and professional knowledge to advise attorneys and businesses.To become a nursing consultant, you must have the proper education, obtain a Legal Nurse Consultant Certificate, and master the skills necessary to the job.
Step 1: An associate of science degree in nursing is required.
To become a nursing consultant, you need a specialized educational background.An Associate of Science Degree in Nursing is required of nursing consultants.A high school education is necessary as well.An Associate of Science Degree in Nursing is a shorter program than other diplomas, so it's a good option if you want to get an education quicker.You can get your nursing degree through a hospital or the military.
Step 2: If you have more time, you can get a Bachelor of Science nursing degree.
A Bachelor of Science Nursingdiploma will take four years to receive and will provide you with more knowledge, as you will spend two more years becoming educated.This degree will help prepare you for your career as a nursing consultant in the long run.If you apply for financial aid, you can get through this education process without a lot of debt.After their undergraduate degree, many nursing consultants receive their Master of Science Nursing degree.
Step 3: Become a nurse.
You need to pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses in order to become a practicing nurse.Being registered as a nurse is an essential step because licensed nurses are the only competent professionals who can address nursing practices.You can apply for registration here.Follow the steps to pass the exam.You can find training courses for this exam near you by visiting legalstudies.com.The license must be renewed every five years.
Step 4: You need to practice as a nurse for at least five years.
As a nursing consultant, you need to be an expert in the field, ready to use your knowledge in legal matters, and have clinical experience as a registered nurse.Before you can start your career as a consultant, you need to be in the field for five years.Many legal cases take place in the critical care field so it is recommended to have a broad background in that field.This will allow you to critically analyze a wide variety of medical legal cases.
Step 5: Obtain a legal nurse consultant certificate.
The gold standard in the industry of nurse consulting is the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board, which gives this certificate.If you want to take the exam, you have to meet the same standards as a clinical nursing certification program.You need a full and unrestricted nursing license at the time of your application to take the exam.You need at least five years of experience as a registered nurse to apply.You have to show evidence of 2,000 hours of legal nurse consulting experience within three years of your application.
Step 6: Become an articulate person.
Interpersonal and communication skills will be developed as a registered nurse.Once you become a nursing consultant, you will have to improve your skills.As you will be consulting attorneys or businesses on legal manners, you must strengthen your skills and become extremely good at communicating your opinions efficiently and effectively.You can observe how other nursing consultants communicate and adapt techniques you find most effective during your clinical training.If you want to practice independently, you need to be able to communicate your business and be a skilled marketer.
Step 7: It is possible to master the art of organizing and analyzing information.
While working on a case, a nursing consultant must be able to organize and analyze massive amounts of information, including medical records and litigation materials.Being detail-oriented allows nursing consultants to make objective, fact-based consultations.You will need to conduct research on your own as a nursing consultant, including preparing a chronologies of healthcare events and comparing them to the allegations relevant to a case, conducting client interviews, and conducting literature searches and summaries.The massive amounts of information being processed in each case will necessitate the preparation of systems of organization.
Step 8: A top priority is objectivity.
A nursing consultant must be willing to leave their biases and opinions out of a case after analyzing it.Monitoring your own perception of a case will allow you to see the facts, rather than being powered by your emotions.A nursing consultant will allow their expertise and knowledge to drive their decision making process, not their own biases, if they practice in the field for years.
Step 9: Become a strong networker.
Consultants for nursing work with health care professionals, attorneys, and clients.In order to connect the two adequately, it is important to network within the healthcare field and the legal field.Consultants should focus on making strong, trustworthy connections.Making long-term connections with other people in the field while practicing as a registered nurse is important.Once you become a consultant, you will need these connections.
Step 10: As an advisor, act strong and confident.
As a nursing consultant, you need to use your expertise in the field to give confident, bold advising.Whether you are working independently or for a firm, providing your objective outlook on a case with conviction will be an important skill to have and will come with adequate experience.
Step 11: As a nurse consultant, practice independently.
It is common for nursing consultants to begin their own independent practice part time while continuing their clinical practice if they decide to work as a nursing consultant.As your practice grows, you can start to focus on your full time career as an independent practice provides you with a flexible schedule.This is a good avenue for a self-motivated nursing consultant with the financial resources and business sense necessary to run their own business.The overhead costs associated with starting a small business will have to be paid by the nursing consultants.
Step 12: Provide knowledge to a law firm.
Working as a nursing consultant for a law firm will often be a full time position and will consist of assisting attorneys in cases involving health care and medical issues.Locating and communicating with expert witnesses is one of the common practices within law firms.
Step 13: There is work within an insurance firm.
Accident, life, and health insurance companies often use nursing consultants to serve as case managers.The duties of nursing consultants within an insurance firm are different from those of independent practices and law firms.If you want to work for accident, life, and health insurance companies, you will often work as a case manager, utilization review specialists, a medical bill auditor, or a policy development coordinators.
Step 14: Go to work for the government.
Governmental agencies, federal or state patient safety organizations, and business and industry settings are less common nursing consultant settings.All of these paths are valid work settings for nursing consultants.You can find out more about which field you should go into by visiting http://www.aalnc.org.
Step 15: Take your skills to the healthcare field.
By working within healthcare systems, hospital, ambulatory care centers and clinics, you will review medical records, conduct patient and employee interviews, prepare reports pertaining to adverse patient outcomes, and participate in meetings regarding the facility's liability exposure.Nurse consultants are hired by healthcare risk management programs to help with legal matters.Nurse consultants may work in the area of corporate compliance.This work is done to make sure the facility complies with state and federal standards.