Registered nurses play a significant role in the healthcare industry and make real
money. However, regular nurses do not have legal knowledge. This can be a problem because medical care often overlaps with legal issues. This is where certified legal nurse consultants come in. They help close the gap between the medical and legal professions with their intimate knowledge of both medical and legal fields. Because of these unique skills, legal nurse consultants often make more money than regular nurses. Here is how to become a certified legal nurse consultant or LNC:
Education
Before you can become a certified LNC, you would first need to have a degree in Nursing. Associate and Bachelor Degrees are both acceptable as long as the candidate is a registered nurse. A full and unrestricted license is necessary to become eligible for certification as an LNC.
Work Experience as a Nurse
Experience as a nurse in a hospital or clinic grants candidates the insight of a medical professional when dealing with medico-legal issues. This insight ensures you can give the right medical advice to lawyers and insurance companies. You will need at least five years of experience as a registered nurse to qualify for certification.
Work Experience as a Legal Nurse Consultant
Before you are eligible for certification, you will need to have at least 2,000 hours of LNC work experience within the past five years. These 2,000 hours must include activities such as collecting, organizing, reviewing, and summarizing medical records, attending interviews, dispositions, hearings or mediations of cases where the assistance of an LNC is necessary, or other tasks of an LNC. These tasks may be difficult without a good legal background; hence taking a training course may be necessary.
Working as a certified LNC gives you the opportunity to expand your experience beyond regular nursing work. However, the process is stringent to protect the quality of LNC work. The advantage of this is if you are certified, you will be in high demand.
