Thoughts for Success: The Experts Aren’t Always Right

The 2008 financial crisis that originated with the banking industry and subsequent recession was brought on by some of the greatest economic minds in the country – the experts.

What happened when the nutrition experts convinced an entire nation that a high carbohydrate diet (including processed carbs) was healthy? Increased obesity and alarming rates of diabetes in not just adults, but also our children.

Both examples clearly prove that the experts aren’t always right and don’t always know what they’re talking about. Even worse, with the Internet today, we have more and more unqualified experts offering advice.

To be successful we often have to act contrary to what the experts advise. When I pioneered the field of legal nurse consulting in 1982 I was challenging the experts. The whole concept was contrary to what attorneys accepted as an industry standard. Typically, they relied on physicians to try to make sense of medical records, yet it’s widely known that most MDs don’t read the medical records. So how could attorneys possibly be getting what they really needed? Not to mention the fact that physicians were charging way too much for their time and weren’t always giving the attorneys objective opinions because they’re often too protective of each other.

I had to go against the experts and educate attorneys that the registered nurse is the only healthcare provider who knows everything that’s going on with the patient. We are the ones with hands-on information, with 24/7, face-to-face contact with patients, and most important, the only healthcare provider who ever reads the entire medical record. RNs not only have the expertise to uncover vital facts and key pieces of information that can make or break an attorney’s case, they’re cost-effective too.

Because I went against expert thinking in 1982, my pioneering efforts led to the use of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants in a variety of injury cases (medical malpractice, personal injury, products liability, toxic tort, workers’ compensation and criminal cases and more). Today use of CLNC^® consultants is not only widely accepted, but expected by attorneys.

Experts can contribute to the growth of your legal nurse consulting business, but don’t blindly trust the experts. Trust your own intellect and insight to receive information from the experts and to then accept or reject that advice in whole or in part. Then, don’t just trust yourself. Do your research.

I recently mentored a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant who was employed full time at a law firm. Her firm eliminated the medical malpractice division effectively putting her out of a job. A paralegal at the law firm connected her with a paralegal recruiter who proceeded to say, “Your 30 years of nursing experience and your CLNC Certification aren’t good enough. You need to go back to paralegal school.” The CLNC consultant bought into that “expert” advice hook, line and sinker. When I mentored her I asked, “How did you get your first CLNC job without a paralegal certificate? Was that a fluke or did the attorney recognize your value as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant?”

I wanted the light bulb to go on, but it didn’t. Her problem was she believed the first person she talked to because he had all the air and authority of an expert. It’s difficult for me to personally mentor that kind of mindset – the mindset who shuts down their brain and discounts their own experience while buying into everybody else’s expertise – whether it’s real, fake, earned or not. If you listened to all the noise out there today, you’d never make a move or you’d make all the wrong moves.

In contrast, I was walking through an exhibit hall at a legal conference and heard, “Vickie!” I looked at a guy in a suit and thought, “I don’t know this attorney.” It wasn’t an attorney, it was Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Robert Malaer who enthusiastically shared how he had built a $500,000 business in 13 months. When I shared his success back at the office, I assumed he was a VIP Pro and had every resource the Institute offers, including exhibiting with a CLNC Mentor. One of my staff corrected me saying, “Vickie, he’s Basic Online.” Robert didn’t wait for more advanced resources or unlimited mentoring or more of my personal, expert advice. He trusted himself to do what needed to be done and did it.

The experts aren’t always right. What expert have you challenged lately? Experts can be valuable, but they shouldn’t be deciding your fate.

Success Is Yours!

P.S. Comment and share times you’ve separated from the experts and turned out better!