CLNC® SUCCESS STORY
I Am Soaring Like an Eagle as a VIP
by Loretta Antoine, RN, BSN, CLNC
I couldn't wait for my first VIP chat! When I got home from the CLNC® 6-Day Certification Seminar, I posted the VIP Power Hour on every calendar, including my laptop, desktop and new PDA. I even set the PDA alarm to ring two hours before the chat. I was like a kid on Christmas Day, waiting to open my gifts.
The evening of the chat, I called to remind my new friend Marcie, who lives in Virginia (I live in Washington state) and whom I met at the 6-Day Seminar. We were practically inseparable at the seminar, and we now visit every day by email and telephone. Marcie and I shared our excitement and anticipation about all we would learn from the "seasoned" VIPs.
VIP Power Hour Excitement
Now it's time to sign on for the VIP Power Hour. I have my list of questions ready. I help Marcie sign on and enter the chat room. We hang up, but she calls right back. She got booted off and is having trouble signing on again.
I didn't want to miss a thing, but I stop to help her get back into the chat room. She thinks I am such a computer whiz. Little does she know that my son, a Microsoft technician, has pounded all I know into my head over the last six years.
Finally, we're both in the VIP chat room. I realize that all the great questions on my list, which I'd secretly wished someone else would post, aren't coming up. Here's my chance. I post my first question and get a response. It's Vickie! She remembers me – I'm so impressed. I don't want to miss what she says for sure.
Another question comes up. Q&As are posting left and right. There's Marcie's question. I have to look away from the computer to write down the answers. I'm going to miss the next question. OK, I tell myself, I can do this. I decide not to look away, but join in as fast as I can type.
VIP Pros Help New VIPs to Soar
What fun I had at my first VIP Power Hour! More importantly:
I learned tons of valuable information and many tips to ease my unnecessary anxiety.
I realized I have a nationwide network of new VIPs starting out just like me, plus well-established VIPs, all eager to support each other.
I found a safe haven where I can be myself and not be afraid to ask a "stupid" question.
I came away with two great new friends and colleagues who have unselfishly shared their secrets to success and filled me with encouragement and faith that I too can succeed as a CLNC®.
In the chat room, other VIP colleagues genuinely care about your success, as we are all bound together by the profession of nursing. Remember, "We are nurses, and we can do anything!" Take this opportunity to network and make new friends. Post the next VIP Power Hour chat on all your calendars today.
By the way, I got my first case in less than two months after attending the 6-Day Seminar.
Thank you, Vickie and your fabulous staff, for all the wonderful work you do for us. You make it possible for me to soar as high as the eagles. I am eternally grateful.
Loretta I. Antoine, BSN, RN, CLNC is the owner of Antoine & Associates, Medical-Legal Consulting, LLC, in Washington state. She has more than 20 years of experience in long term care, internal medicine, oncology, rheumatology, labor and delivery.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The next VIP Power Hour chat will be April 1, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. CST.
BEST PRACTICES FOR WORKING AT HOME, PART I
Manage Yourself and Others to Manage Your CLNC® Success
EDITOR'S NOTE: Many of us look forward to the day when we can work at home. We asked our CLNC® Pros to share their best practices for managing yourself and your CLNC® success from home. More of their practical strategies will appear in Part II, Legal Nurse Consulting Ezine, Vol. 14, No. 6.
– Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
Assess Whether Working from Home Is for You
Many new business owners think working from home can be a leisurely activity, but you need much more discipline to make it work successfully. Interruptions are an ever-present risk, and endless home projects could easily tease you away. Some people are more productive and happier in a structured environment around other people. Consider if working from home is the right match for you.
When you start working from home, you may lose track of the big picture and forget that you're running a business. Treat yourself as an employee who has a job to do. Set up your life to make working from home an effective step in becoming an independent CLNC®.
Set Regular Office Hours and Stick to Your Schedule
Schedule regular work hours. Have a written goal for how much you want to bill each day. Focus on meeting that goal before paying attention to activities that aren't income related. Include regular lunch hours and breaks in your business hours.
Post your work hours where your family will see them. This reminds those around you that you are not available unless a true emergency arises.
Begin and end each day at the time indicated on your schedule. Get up early enough to complete your morning routine before you're due at your "office." Kiss the kids and whomever, pat the pets, get dressed and GET TO WORK ON TIME.
Pretend you are working in someone else's office until you develop your discipline. Would you go to your regular job late? Would you watch TV or run errands in the middle of the day?
Do whatever it takes to get into "work mode" – close your office door, refuse to answer your home phone and designate a time to handle personal tasks.
Manage Your Time to Save Money and Your Sanity
Create a weekly plan based on your business plan. Allow flexibility for unforeseen changes. Keep your plan visible at all times. Schedule time for working on strategic imperatives.
Develop a time management system you will actually use. Evaluate your use of time often to see where you may be wasting time or not properly keeping track of your time. This is important for maximizing your billable hours and also for collecting data to use in bidding on large projects. Experiment to find what works best for you.
Purchase an electronic day planner that allows you to track projects, experts, meetings, phone calls, etc. This will save you time, money and sanity.
Identify your peak creative hours and your top energy points during the day and structure your routine to take advantage of your personal "best times." You can finish big projects and those projects that require intense focus in half the time when you do them during your most creative and productive time.
Save administrative tasks such as correspondence, returning phone calls, checking email and easy projects that don't require your full attention for your non-peak times. You can also break up your day with two administrative sessions for these items. Email is a great way to communicate, but in today's world, your email account can be overwhelming. Use the delete key liberally.
Reading medical records, doing research, and writing detailed reports are challenging. Taking five minutes every couple of hours to walk away from the project ultimately adds to your productivity.
Implement a system for billing. You must track your billable time and send invoices. Most clients won't pay without an invoice and usually pay net 30 days.
Keep a running shopping list of office and marketing supplies so you can easily see when supplies are low. You never want to run out of paper.
Plan your out-of-office time. In the beginning it's easy to take a quick trip to the post office or office supply store on a whim. As you become busier, these trips will zap your energy and take time away from productive (billable) activities. Shop online and look for home delivery of office supplies. If you order in larger volumes, home delivery is free. When possible, group errands and appointments for efficiency.
Once a month, on a Friday, plan a lighter day for special projects, reading and catch-up. You will look forward to this time, and although you're still working on business-related tasks, you will feel more in control of your schedule and your life.
Eliminate Distractions and Focus on Your Priorities
Develop a routine just as you would in nursing. Triage cases and keep a priority list by your computer for a quick daily review. Focus on important deadlines and place all attention on the top "priority."
Focus on the task at hand. Screen your calls during business hours. Be available for clients, but use caller ID to prevent marketers, family, and friends from taking up valuable time. Turn off the TV. Keep the office door shut.
Save personal matters for lunch time, after work, or the weekend. Let friends and relatives know that just because you work from home does not mean you are available to "play" or "chat" during business hours. You have to set boundaries as if you worked in someone else's office.
Call a family meeting. Communicate positively to your significant other and kids the importance of your work and how their support during your work hours is essential to having more family time together. Working at home is a privilege that you and your family will want to continue.
Enforce rules about interruptions. This can be tough, but generally everyone respects the rules. When the office door is shut, that means work is in progress.
Find a "hideout" providing guaranteed silence for those times when you absolutely must have a quiet telephone conference, in spite of FedEx arriving, dogs barking, second phone line ringing, etc.
To maintain focus during intense case work, play soft classical music or sounds of nature.
Suzanne E. Arragg, RN, BSN, CDONA/LTC, CLNC, is the owner of SEA Consultant Company in California, specializing in long term care cases.
Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, CLNC owner of Barnes Medical Legal Services, has been an independent CLNC® consulting on medical malpractice, bad faith insurance, general personal injury, home care, elder abuse, and research services since 1999.
Gloria A. Blackmon, RNC, BSN, LNHA is the CEO of Blackmon & Associates Medical-Legal Consulting in Kansas, specializing in long term care issues.
Susan J. Burnham, RNC, CLNC, the sole proprietor of Burnham and Associates in Washington state, has been an independent legal nurse consultant specializing in quality of care issues since 1996.
Nancy Dion, RN, MSM, CLNC, CPHQ, CHCRM, LNHA, with more than 35 years as a healthcare professional, is a Florida-based CLNC® with expertise in clinical services, organizational redesign, quality improvement, risk management, and executive team building and management.
Joan M. Gower, RN, CLNC is an independent CLNC® and owner of Florida Medical Legal Consultants, Inc.
Pam Hollsten, RN, BSN, DABFN, CLNC, an independent CLNC® in Georgia, owns Hollsten & Associates, specializing in medical malpractice.
Patsy Howard, RN, CLNC is the owner of Metro Legal Nurse Consulting in Missouri and the in-house legal nurse consultant for Hinshaw & Culbertson, a large medical and legal malpractice firm.
Colleen Lindell, RN, MHSA, CNOR, CLNC, Wisconsin, is CEO of Med-Legal.net, Inc., a nurse-owned firm providing U.S. attorneys and healthcare consumers with research, expert case review and opinion.
Gina I. Rogers, RN, BSN, CLNC is the founder of Medical Review Consulting, LLC in Kentucky. She consults with plaintiff and defense attorneys and insurance companies nationwide.
– Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
