Become a Legal Nurse Consultant

Some legal nurse consultants run independent consulting practices, while others work in law firms, government offices, insurance companies, hospital risk management departments and forensic environments. Legal nurse consultant jobs typically involve the following duties:

• Educating attorneys regarding medical facts or issues related to a case or claim
• Reviewing medical records, hospital policies and other documents to determine their relevance to a case
• Developing chronologies of medical events and clarifying how these events fit into the overall case analysis
• Preparing witnesses and exhibit lists for trial
• Collaborating with legal experts to develop case strategies
• Evaluating possible breach of duty on the part of health care faculty or practitioners

For more in depth information, read our article about legal nurse consulting specialties.

As you might expect, legal nurse consultants play a crucial role in researching medical malpractice cases. Additionally, legal teams require their unique expertise and training in a number of other practice areas, such as the following:

• Personal injury
• Workers' compensation
• Toxic torts, or personal injuries caused by exposure to toxic substances, such as asbestos or hazardous waste
• Medical licensure investigation
• Criminal and elder law
• Product liability

As registered nurses (RNs), legal nurse consultants hold a nursing degree and an active RN license. According to HealthCare-TrainingCenter.com, legal nurse consultants typically earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited nursing school and move into their specialty area after gaining several years of experience in clinical practice.

To enhance their credibility, legal nurse consultants can return to nursing school to pursue an advanced degree, or they can attain certification. Although optional, certification tells employers that you meet education and competency standards for your specialty practice, and it demonstrates your commitment to ongoing professional development.

You can obtain certification through the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board (ALNCCB), which offers its LNCC exam twice a year at testing sites across the country. To become eligible for the exam, you must meet these criteria:

• Hold a current registered nursing license
• Have worked a minimum of five years as an RN
• Have gained 2,000 hours of legal nurse consulting experience within the last three years

Your LNCC certification is valid for five years, and you can renew it by meeting a combination of continuing education and experience requirements.

Salaries for legal nurse consultant jobs will vary based on a number of factors, particularly the nurse's employer type, location, years of experience, nursing degree level and case load.

According to the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC), independent legal nurse consultants typically get paid on an hourly basis, while those who work directly for law firms or other institutions receive a salary.

The Medical-Legal Consulting Institute estimates that independent, certified legal nurse consultants can earn $125 to $150 an hour. Most legal nurse consultants work 40 hours per week and spend extra time on cases, as required.

For those who hold full-time employment at organizations such as law firms and insurance companies, certified legal nurse consultants with an associate's degree in nursing make a median annual salary of $74,254, according to PayScale.com. And those with a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN) earn even more, with a median annual income of $87,000.

Legal nurse consultants will remain in high demand for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that they charge less than medical doctors (MDs), making them a cost-effective choice for attorneys, insurance companies and other groups who use their services.

In addition, as the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) reminds us, nurses are the only health care providers who come face-to-face with patients every day. Adding that kind of interactive experience to their specialized training and skills gives legal nurse consultants the ability to offer an unmatched level of expertise to their clients. The complex nature of medical-legal cases demands a unique skill set, and those with the training to perform in such a highly specialized arena will enjoy the exceptional nursing career opportunities and rewards that come with this distinct profession.

_{Sources:
National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, 2010
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010
HealthCare-TrainingCenter.com, 2002
PayScale.com, 2011}