NEWS FLASH Sacramento Business Journal Features
Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantsCMand Vickie
The Sacramento Business Journal featured Vickie and two successful CLNC®s in the article "Nurses Enjoy New Vistas with Consulting Side Jobs."
Vickie L. Milazzo points out that, "Part of what's attractive about legal nurse consulting is we have more than a million attorneys in the United States and they deal with everything from medical malpractice to personal injury cases."
Another attraction is the pay. Legal nurse consultants can earn much more than they earn from nursing, and they can do the work part time. Vickie also reminds us that, "The average age of an RN is mid-40s, so it's just natural that nurses at some stage would look for other ways to use their experience and expertise." She herself only had 6 years of nursing experience before becoming a successful legal nurse consultant.
Barbara Christensen, RN, BSN, PHN, CLNC agrees. "It's a stimulating way to expand your career. So as you burn out on the type of job you're doing, it gives you another way to use the expertise you already have."
FROM THE EDITOR
Make the Most of Your FREE Mentoring with These Guidelines
by Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
I want you to succeed. That's why I developed the CLNC® Mentoring Program for all CLNC®s and Institute students. You receive free lifetime mentoring as long as you remain certified. As a CLNC® or student of the Institute, you are not left to figure everything out on your own. Our CLNC® Mentors guide you in starting and growing your legal nurse consulting practice.
All CLNC® Mentors are full-time practicing Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantsCM. I personally handpicked every CLNC® Mentor, guaranteeing that you are being coached by the most successful CLNC® Pros in the nation.
"The Vickie Milazzo Institute offers ongoing mentoring by some of the most important and successful CLNC®s. This you can't get anywhere else."
– Mendy Bragg, RN, CLNC, South Carolina
Our CLNC® Mentors guide you every step of the way to CLNC® success whether you're preparing for an interview or writing a report. Our goal is to help you avoid mistakes and face each new level in your business with confidence. The only thing we don't do is do your work for you. For example, we can't locate an expert for you, but we can answer your questions about how to find an appropriate expert for a particular case.
"The support that follows the training is unsurpassed. CLNC® Mentoring gives you everything you need."
– Toni R. Young-Huber, RN, BSN, CLNC, Colorado
For the most rapid response to your mentoring questions, please visit the NACLNC® Community and use the Mentoring Request Form. We have a family of trusted
CLNC® Mentors in many nursing specialties, and we will match you with the right one to address your issue. Please do not email or call our CLNC® Mentors directly. You must make each mentoring request through the Institute.
The Institute is committed to meeting the mentoring needs of our students and CLNC®s. Make your initial mentoring request via email to
Mentor@LegalNurse.com, and we will respond within 24 hours, Monday-Friday. Depending on the complexity of your question, we will provide an answer via email or a CLNC® Mentor will contact you by phone. If you have a question about your marketing materials, send them with your request, and we will review your materials within 5 business days of receiving them.
Our FREE mentoring is available at 3 different levels as long as you remain certified:
You have access to FREE mentoring once a month as long as you remain certified.
We are here to help you make your career as a Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantCM a rewarding success. Hands down, students and CLNC®s rate the mentoring they receive from the Institute's CLNC® Mentors as their favorite FREE benefit. CLNC®s say, "Free mentoring is the secret to success."
Your Success Coach,
Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Process of Life Care Planning
by Brian D. Johnson, RN, PhD, CLNC
Although many CLNC®s are already involved in writing life care plans, others could expand their practices by offering this service. This article will give you some insights into the important function of a life care plan (LCP) and its place in your CLNC® practice.
What Is a Life Care Plan?
According to the Life Care Planning and Case Management Handbook, Roger Weed, editor (Boca Raton, Florida, CRC Press, 1998):
"A life care plan is a dynamic document based on published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis and research, which provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs, for individuals who experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic healthcare needs."
More concisely, the LCP is a holistic approach that takes into account the unique past, present and expected future of an individual and tries to anticipate a wide spectrum of that person's various needs. Think of an LCP as a road map that points us in the direction of a patient's optimum functioning.
Who Needs a Life Care Plan?
Many individuals can benefit from an LCP. The need for such a plan usually arises out of litigation because of a traumatic insult or life-changing event. Individuals who can benefit from an LCP include:
Persons who have experienced traumatic brain injury with lasting disabilities.
Persons with new spinal cord injuries.
Children born with chronic difficulties (e.g., spina bifida or brain damage).
Persons with permanent impairment from anesthesia (e.g., anoxia cases).
Persons who develop chronic illnesses that require complex care (e.g., multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis).
Some psychiatric cases where an attorney is involved in estate planning (e.g., Huntington's disease, Korsakoff's dementia).
Often the plaintiff attorney asks for an LCP, but the defense attorney may also request another LCP written by her own expert. If each side has an LCP prepared, they often review each other's plan while preparing to challenge both the theory behind the plaintiff's ongoing needs and the probable cost of those needs.
Who Writes a Life Care Plan?
Healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds write LCPs, including nurses, vocational counselors, rehabilitation psychologists, physicians, physical therapists and occupational therapists. Whatever the life care planner's discipline, she must have an understanding of disease processes, medications, medical and psychological needs and rehabilitation principles. All the preparation involved in becoming a CLNC® (nursing credentials, CLNC® training) can make a CLNC® with rehab or case management experience an ideal candidate for becoming a life care planner.
The work of life care planners is not governed by any state or federal agency. This means that life care planners are not licensed, although voluntary certifications are available through various institutes. LCP training programs vary in length, expense and location, so potential life care planners have some choice in obtaining specialized preparation for this field.
What Does a Life Care Plan Consist Of?
The LCP tends to be a very long document. The main components are:
A review of the individual's relevant medical, social and family history.
A list of his current abilities and disabilities as determined by a variety of healthcare practitioners.
A list of all anticipated needs and their expected frequency:
Doctor's visits for both primary and specialist care.
Medications and medical supplies.
Laboratory tests.
Rehabilitation therapies (physical and occupational therapy).
Probable surgeries and radiological procedures.
Psychotherapy sessions.
Medical equipment (wheelchairs, splints, special beds).
Possible home-modification requirements (portable ramps, environmental control units, respite care for family providers).
Visiting nurse services and other in-home support services.
Other equipment to enhance quality of life (adaptive clothing, assistive technology, computers, etc.).
A description of the purpose of each item or service, estimated cost and possible vendors.
What Are the Steps in Writing a Life Care Plan?
Writing an LCP can be a complex task. You must approach the process in a systematic way.
After your attorney-client hires you to write an LCP, your first step will be to review all the medical records. You must talk with the attending physician to review the plaintiff's future needs and perhaps speak with any specialists to confirm the attending physician's assessment. Then obtain the recommendations of physical and occupational therapists, visiting nurses and other healthcare providers.
After you gather all this information, a home visit is usually necessary. This allows you to see what the home milieu is like and to assess the need for home modifications firsthand.
Once you complete this in-depth evaluation, you must consult several vendors for each and every need to determine the price range and average cost. You present all this information in a chart format in your final report. Your attorney-client will take your report to a forensic economist who "crunches" the numbers based on the cost ranges and averages you
provide.
Any CLNC® writing a life care plan will be expected to testify to the opinions given in the LCP.
CLNC®s and Life Care Planning
Now that you know more about LCPs, here are some ways both you and your clients can benefit from your involvement in the life care planning process:
In any catastrophic accident or injury case you consult on, offer to develop an LCP, if you are qualified.
If you do not prepare LCPs yourself, be ready to help your attorney-client locate a CLNC® who is a life care planner.
Provide literature on life care planning to attorneys or insurance claims managers to help them better understand the purpose and process of life care planning.
Take training as a life care planner to enhance your marketable CLNC® skills.
Brian D. Johnson, RN, PhD, CLNC is a senior staff analyst for Forensic Defense Analysts, specializing in attorney work products for the defense of neurological and psychological injury claims. A CLNC® Mentor, he is a life care planner and also a neurophysiologist in private and hospital practice in California.
