Online Legal Nurse Consultant Schools

What role do legal nurse consultant schools play in preparing nurses with an interests in legal issues? A legal nurse consultant is a liaison between health care and the law. Legal nurse consultants work with lawyers and attorneys in health care.

A legal nurse consultant, also known as an LNC differs from a paralegal in that the paralegal assists lawyers in the delivery of legal services and have training in legal education and training while most nurse consultants have acquired knowledge of the legal system. This is based on the fact that legal education is not a prerequisite to the practice of legal nurse consulting although may nurses have chosen to attain specialized legal education. Some areas include working on issues like medical insurance, medical malpractice, personal injury, workers compensation, etc. Legal Nurse consulting provides certified nurses the career opportunities beyond direct patient care, while using their knowledge and experience in the medical profession. Legal nurse consultants have experience in various nursing backgrounds for example pediatrics, gerontology, emergency room care, intensive care units (ICU), hospital administration, private practices, community health, departments of health, etc. Extensive and varied experience makes them great assets during legal cases, and legal nurse consultant schools play a role as well.

Legal Nurse Consultant Schools

Kaplan University

• Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate
• Forensic Nursing Certificate

Post University

• Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate

Search for Online Legal Nurse Consultant Degree in Nursing Programs

Locate Legal Nurse Consulting Degree Programs in your area

Legal Nurse Education and Training

To become a legal nurse consultant one must have clinical experience as a nurse. In addition, some nursing colleges have began to offer formal legal nurse consultant degrees and courses. The legal nurse consulting program take about twelve months to complete but becoming a certified legal nurse consultant does enhance your career opportunities in addition to making one more competitive.

Nursing schools with legal nurse consulting programs offer courses in conjunction with other legal and law departments. Students take legal nurse consultant classes in legal ethics, torts, personal injury cases, forensic science, legal writing, trial preparation, etc. While legal nurse consultant program requirements vary in structure, courses include both medical and legal courses. Legal nurse consultant schools also identify trends and issues in the field and cover that in the curriculum.

Legal nurse consultants must be licensed registered nurses. In general, they have to have legally practiced in the profession in their state of residence for five years as an RN and two years in the legal nursing field before seeking certification. Legal nurse consultant courses include:

• Medical and legal terminology
• Civil litigation
• Torts and medical liability
• Medical ethics
• Medical records review
• Healthcare risk management

While they do not have to have a formal legal education to become legal nurse consultants attending legal seminars and programs to acquire continuing education credits is important and may be required as part of legal nurse consultant certification. It is important to note that the Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC) credential is the only certification recognized by the American Association of Legal Nursing Consultants (AALNC).

The program is accredited by the American Board of Nurse Specialists (ABNS) and the exam is administered by the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board (ALNCCB) and covers the certain areas including workers' compensation, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability, risk management, life care planning, administrative health law, geriatric law and criminal and forensic procedures.

Legal Nurse Consultant Careers

Legal nurse consulting responsibilities can include medical record research, discussing medical information to clients, identifying medical standards of health care, preparing legal reports, and providing expert witness opinions in court proceedings in cases like worker's compensation, medical malpractice, fraud, patient or procedure abuse and other health care issues matters.

Some legal nurse consultants work as independent contractor. Others work for law firms, health care companies and insurance firms as well as medical supplies companies. It is important to not that like paralegals, legal nurse consultants are not licensed lawyers and their role is not to give legal advice.

Estimated Income and Projected Career Growth

About 50% of legal nurses work on staff with legal firms, lawyers offices, insurance companies, and other legal bodies. The average income is above $80,000 a year. Other legal nurse consultants choose to be independently employed, and they work on a case-by-case basis. In these instances, they can continue to work in the hospital setting simultaneously.

Independent legal nurse consultants often earn $100.00 to $250.00 per hour depending on the details of the particular case and the location. The demand for independent legal nurses continues to grow making the role of legal nurse consultant schools more important. Legal nurse consultants are often sought after for their experience and input into clinical opinions and recommendations.