April 2009

Let’s look at what email signature files can do for your legal nurse consulting business. All of us use email, some of us use it sparingly, others incessantly and a few for actual business communication (you know – not “mom-spam”). In the good old days of snail mail, people sent letters using a decent grade of actual bond paper with a letterhead printed at the top – that was the signature file. Today in our increasingly paperless society, business emails are sent with a signature file at the end to promote the business and its services to every recipient.

An email signature, depending upon the email program you use, is a short file (either text or html) containing a few lines of text (and sometimes a logo) that is inserted below your name or other usual signature. Choose from the following components to create one or more signatures for your CLNC^® business:

• Your name, credentials and title.
• Your company name, address, telephone number and fax number.
• Your email address and website URL.
• A quick marketing note or company vision.
• A recent achievement, award or recognition.
• A special offer.

Many Certified Legal Nurse Consultants create multiple signatures that they can select from depending upon the subject and the recipient of their email communication.

A few examples follow. The first is commonly one full signature advertising your business and containing your title and contact information:

Susan J. Smith, RN, MSN, CLNC
President
713.555.1212

Smith & Associates Legal Nurse Consulting
Providing Quality Legal Nurse Consulting Services since 1994
1313 Mockingbird Lane, Suite B, Mockingbird Heights, CA 91210
SmithNAssociates.com
Phone: 713.555.1212
________________________________________________________

Another might be a shorter one that just contains the name and title so that you’re not overwhelming your recipients:

Susan J. Smith, RN, MSN, CLNC
President
713.555.1212
________________________________________________________

The next might be one stating that the communication is private, privileged or confidential.

Susan J. Smith, RN, MSN, CLNC
President
713.555.1212

CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT
This is a confidential and/or privileged communication. Any additional dissemination or copying of this electronic communication is strictly prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please notify us immediately at 713.555.1212 and permanently delete and/or destroy the original and any electronic or printed copies of this communication, including any attachments.
________________________________________________________

The last may be one containing a HIPAA statement (don’t use a signature file including a “confidentiality notice” or “protected under HIPAA” notice unless the message actually is confidential or protected under HIPAA). If you are sending Personal Healthcare Information (PHI) that may be covered under HIPAA, you’ll need to talk with your attorney-client about the policies for their office and how she wants you to proceed. For most plaintiff work after suit is filed, the information generally falls out from under the HIPAA HIPPO. For defense work if no suit has been filed, you’ll be working under the defense firm’s guidelines. At a bare minimum, you must send a test email first and verify that the recipient’s email address is correct. Then make sure to send any PHI as an encrypted attachment and that no specially protected PHI (i.e. HIV/AIDS, substance abuse treatment information or mental health information is included).

Example:

Susan J. Smith, RN, MSN, CLNC
President
713.555.1212

The materials in this email are private and may contain Protected Healthcare Information (PHI). If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately at 713.555.1212 and permanently delete and/or destroy the original and any electronic or printed copies of this communication, including any attachments.
________________________________________________________

Back in the bad old days when bandwidth was at a premium, it was netiquette to try and keep your signature short – that is between 4-6 lines of 80 characters or less and to use plain text instead of html. I still recommend this today (even though I break those rules). Plain text keeps its formatting and style no matter what kind of email reader your recipient is using and will also maintain that format when it’s forwarded – something html doesn’t always do.

Another bit of signature netiquette is to only use the full signature on the initial email. If you get a reply and your first communication remains in the body of the email – use only your short signature in any replies – not the full signature (especially if it’s long). Either use an extra-short (name, title, phone extension) or use no signature at all when communicating inside a network as an employee. And finally, if your email client allows you (like Outlook^®) the flexibility of switching signatures, set your default signature to “none.” Then it’s easy to select the one you want when you’re ready to send.

Keep on Techin’,

Tom

P.S. Comment to share your best email signature marketing strategy.

I could tell my story a million times because it’s so exciting to have finally achieved all of my professional goals.

I’m 47 now, and I’ve felt like I shortchanged myself my entire life and hadn’t reached my full potential. I wanted to achieve a certain status and financial level, and I never got that from nursing. I graduated summa cum laude with two degrees and it was always frustrating to have so much education, so little respect and such minimal compensation. I was sick of it.

For years I’d seen Vickie’s smiling picture in the ads for her CLNC^® Certification Program. I saw her program as the perfect combination of my two interests; law and medicine. When I realized how comprehensive her training was, I ordered everything she offered. It was my belief that if one nurse could do this, I could! And if I was going to invest in myself, I was going all the way. I was setting myself up for success. I ordered the VIP CLNC^® Business System.

As a side benefit I even lost 25 pounds when I started my CLNC^® business. It was effortless and I think it was because I’m so happy. Every day is spent doing exactly what I want to be doing. I finally feel like I’m getting the professional respect I’ve sought my entire life. I’m not only being treated like an equal, I’m being treated as a tremendous asset. The attorneys need me and they respect my intelligence. They pump me up constantly. Gone are the days of the “toxic” hospital environment.

Between the attorneys and Vickie Milazzo Institute, I am ecstatic! Vickie gives you all the tools you need, and the Institute holds your hand every step of the way. When something great happens, they’re there to cheer you on, as if they are family. That’s unheard of, especially in nursing. As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, I finally feel like I’ve arrived.

I Billed $16,000 in My Fourth Month

The day I came back from the CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminar, I went half time at the hospital. I was determined to invest time in my CLNC^® business. I couldn’t work full time and start my business or someone would be shortchanged, and it wasn’t going to be my child.

Soon I was billing so many hours as a CLNC^® consultant – $16,000 in my fourth month alone! – that I could no longer work at the hospital.

I recently returned from a legal conference in Nevada. It was my sixth conference this year. I came home with seven new attorney-clients and 11 cases. In addition, I currently have several cases in progress and work with attorneys in 19 states. I’m scheduled for three more conferences in the next few months and have been asked to present at a legal seminar. I’m on track to achieve six figures!

With each new case, I learn more about managing a successful CLNC^® practice. In one early case, I was talking to the attorney and he mentioned that he already had his team in place and didn’t need anyone else. Nevertheless, the attorney went on to describe a case over the phone. I gave him some questions to ask his expert and the defendant. When I followed up to see how it went he said he had forgotten to ask some of the questions. He responded with, “Why don’t I send you some of the records to see what you think. Just put me on the clock.” What he sent was 18 pages. For a couple of weeks, I couldn’t think of a single thing I hadn’t already told him. But he’d said to put him on the clock, and I was determined to find something! Finally, I decided to put what I had already told him in chronology format to see if anything else popped out at me. Sure enough, I discovered a tampering issue. The attorney was so busy, he didn’t comment – but more than a month later he called and said, “That tampering issue you found blew this case wide open. All of a sudden we have additional discovery. Thank you so much!”

The VIP CLNC^® Business System Is the Nordstrom of Legal Nurse Consulting

If you have a choice of going to the best four-year college to prepare for your career, would you take a correspondence course instead? No, you’d choose the best, and that’s what Vickie provides. I absolutely recommend the VIP CLNC^® Business System. The added cost of the VIP CLNC^® Business System, when you divide it out over five years, comes down to pennies basically, but you’re investing in yourself by getting it all. As a VIP you also feel more successful while you’re in the program.

The unlimited mentoring with the CLNC^® Mentors is phenomenal. I tend to hold onto a problem too long – I want to solve it myself and then I panic because I need the answer right this second. The CLNC^® Mentors get right back to me. They support me all the way. They “have my back.” They want me to succeed.

Vickie gives you all the tools. She’s dotted every “i” and crossed every “t.” She could not do it better than she has. She’s right up there with Nordstrom. I went to college with one of the Nordstroms, and that’s who Vickie is. Someone could take what she has done with this business and use it as a business model at Harvard. Nothing is missing. She has everything down, from branding your business to supporting you while you learn and not dropping the ball afterwards. I’ve reached my professional goal as a CLNC^® consultant.

I hold phone consults on the white sand beaches of Pensacola while watching my son surf. Two days ago, I noticed the bay water in my “backyard” to be perfect glass. I took a break from my cases and went knee boarding with my 11-year-old and his friends. Twelve dolphins joined us and it was one of the best days ever.

Becoming a CLNC^® consultant has offered me the flexibility to catch the joys of life. Not only am I finally making the money I deserve; I have the freedom I have always dreamed of. The amazing thing is…it hasn’t even been a year since I took the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant course! I love my life!

Winner of the 2009 CLNC^® Success Story Contest Becky Mungai, RN, BA, CLNC, is a full-time Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and owner of Mungai & Associates. She has 23 years of nursing experience and specializes in consulting on birth injury and pediatric emergency/trauma cases for attorneys nationwide.

P.S. Read more CLNC^® Success Stories and send your CLNC^® Success Story to feedback@LegalNurse.com.

P.P.S. Click here to read Becky’s complete CLNC^® Success Story.

I’m in New York City for Easter and just got back from strolling down Fifth Avenue (Tom held my credit card) in one of the most fashionable cities in the world.

New Yorkers have it all together. They are serious about their business and they’re not afraid to prove it in the way they dress. No matter what they are wearing, they know how to package it into one congruent statement. And nobody knows how to dress up “basic black” like a New Yorker. They dress for “Success in the City” more often than “Sex in the City;” which is exactly what you have to do when you walk into an attorney’s office for a legal nurse consulting interview. I recommend that new Certified Legal Nurse Consultants hire an image consultant. New or experienced, I mean it, you need one, you’ll have to trust me on this one. So did I when I started my legal nurse consulting business 27 years ago (even though I didn’t know it at the time).

A typical nurse, I knew how to wear scrubs, but little else. One year for Christmas I asked my mom for a $50 painting I coveted so I’d have something to hang on the wall of my new one-bedroom condo. Her response was, “You need a dress, not a $50 painting.” But being the loving person she was, I got the painting and mom got a big hug. When I had my first attorney interview, I wasn’t ready to “dress for success,” but that painting sure looked great hanging on my living room wall. Fortunately for me, the attorney wasn’t (and still isn’t) the best dresser either. The dressiest things I owned were my “church clothes,” a purple sweater and grey skirt my mom had gotten me for my birthday (two months after that Christmas). Lucky for me the attorney saw what I could do for him, not what I was wearing, and hired me to work on my first medical malpractice case. I got started both on the case and on learning how to dress the part to maneuver through the attorney’s world.

I did manage to avoid the Minnie Mouse look popular at the time, but some of my suits were a little stiff and serious. Through a “friend of a friend” I met an image consultant who quickly set me straight and pulled me together (but not without a struggle). She taught me a valuable lesson. No matter how competent we are, what we wear and how we wear it speaks loudly about what people will expect from us. We may be able to deliver a high quality work product (or save a life), but if the purse doesn’t blend, the shoes are a little scuffy and if the hair’s ten years out of style – you can count on the attorney focusing on the lowest common denominator, not your 15 years of nursing experience and terrific communication skills. We nurses are pretty lenient and tend to judge other nurses first by how we’ve secured all our tools to our scrubs, then by our competencies. Attorneys hire people they perceive to already be successful. You have seconds to influence that first impression and those scrubs or purple sweater just won’t do it. Nordstrom’s and other stores offer free image consults. Take advantage of them, you’ll appreciate it later. Your best thinking got you here – their best thinking can get you out of those scrubs.

If you’ve still no clue what I’m talking about, take a trip to New York City, stroll Fifth Avenue and take a good look at what people are wearing. Just leave your credit card at home.

Success Is Inside!

P.S. Comment and share your 5th-Avenue-style tips for your CLNC^® business.

Did you know that the word “niggle” is an intransitive verb which according to Merriam-Webster, dates from about 1616 and means to trifle or to spend too much effort on minor details? Do you find yourself niggling away your time or do you use it meaningfully for your legal nurse consulting business? Most people claim to cherish their “quiet” time, but be honest. Do you spend the first part of your day on your email? Or, do you use that peak productivity time to knock out those hard projects for attorneys and big things for your CLNC^® business.

The first part of my day is my quiet, productive time. These are the hours before my office is officially open and all the employees have shown up. By 8:30am there’s a line of penitents forming outside my door; employees asking for my input on a project, directors telling me why they won’t meet a deadline and the janitor asking me to diagnose a toenail fungus. If I’m lucky enough to be working from the sanctuary of my home office when my phone starts ringing off my desk, I know the office is open. Knowing this madness is coming, on my best days, I use my quiet time to hunker down and work on those projects that need the most concentration.

Less successful people gravitate towards what’s easy instead of what’s productive; I call this the “feel-good addiction.” Feel-good addicts start their days differently. Since they like to feel-good they focus on minor, easy to complete tasks – email, desktop organizing, sorting mail, more email and other nonproductive (but necessary) activities. The feel-good addiction is insidious for people who like to check things off, because you feel good after completing each small task (and you get to check it off your “to-do” list). This addiction bites you on the butt because that cheap check-mark high guarantees to frustrate, overwhelm and stress you out in the long term. You feel busier than ever but are accomplishing less of real value. When we get caught up in feeling good, we never get to our big commitments.

Even worse, about the time you’ve completed your feel-good tasks and are ready to start in on your real work, the other folks in the office have completed their feel-good tasks and they’re ready to start interrupting you from the big things you are ready to do or an attorney-client calls with the latest crisis (that’s when the line forms and the phone starts ringing).

When you break the “feel-good” addiction, you actually open the doors to achievement and to your passionate vision for your CLNC^® business. Start by asking yourself; is this feel-good start to my day the best use of my time? Or, are these feel-good tasks best reserved for mental breaks throughout the day? That’s the way I use them. I, too am a happy checker-offer and I like knocking out tasks. Working for two hours on a report or project that I won’t finish doesn’t release the same amount of endorphins as cleaning out my email box (and forwarding those tasks on to others). After two hours I need to “get something checked off.” That’s when I indulge my own feel-good addiction and attack the stack of bills, plow into the financials or grab my mouse to viciously click through my email.

What you engage and focus on in your legal nurse consulting business is where you will yield results. Trivia saps the creative energy you need for accomplishing your audacious goals and will douse the fire that you need to fully engage your passionate vision. You may feel good for a while but at the end of the day, which will be here before you know it, all you’ve accomplished is of little value.

Break your addiction and work on those important projects, like that report for your attorney-client. We already have precious little free time, and it’s been mathematically proven that work expands to fill the time available, so we need to make the most of the time we have and not niggle it away. I’m not trying to say that some email isn’t important or that there might be something pressing in your in-box. If you can’t bring yourself to close your email box, at least turn off the sound alert so you won’t have the annoying little “ping” sound off every time a potential time-waster drops out of cyberspace and into your consciousness.

Remember you’re a nurse. Use your triage skills; just don’t start the surgery unless the patient is critical. Email doesn’t bleed out, doesn’t need defibrillation and, unlike an ICU patient, won’t expire if not tended to immediately.

I’ll look for you in line.

Success Is Inside!

P.S. Comment and share your best tip for breaking your feel-good addiction.

Okay, I’ve got to admit something. You’ve heard me brag about my dual 20″ monitors on my desk. Here’s the confession. I’ve gotten to the point where I cannot work without two monitors staring me in the face. In my office, I keep my email open on one monitor (the right) so I can do the ADD thing as soon as something important that requires me to drop what I’m doing and immediately attend to someone else’s problem, drops into my email box. I do turn off the sound so the pinging doesn’t drive me totally bonkers.

The left (really center) monitor is my workspace. This is where I do the important things (write my Tuesday Tech Tips, surf the Internet and occasionally some real work). I’m constantly mousing back and forth between the two monitors. If I’m editing documents, I’ll keep one document open on one monitor and drag another to the other. I even accidentally discovered that in Outlook you can right click the calendar or email icons at the bottom left and open either in a new window! That way when I’m putting a deadline from an email into my calendar or preparing another list of my availability dates to send to President Obama, I don’t have to depend on my bad memory, I just look back and forth.

Legal nurse consultants, if you haven’t tried duals you’re missing out. These are even more fun than using tabbed browsing in Firefox to look at multiple websites. The possibilities are endless. I haven’t tried spreading a spreadsheet across the two… maybe later. Think about working on your reports for your attorney-clients. You can have the scanned medical records on one screen and your report on the other while doing research in the background.

“Tom,” you might be wondering, “you’re a lowly laptop user – how did you plug two monitors into a laptop?” Well the answer is simple. I’ve got my dock, and my dock has two different outputs on the back for monitors – a standard VGA output (old school) for the monitor I put on top of the dock’s built-in stand and a DVI output (modern). Probably the designers figured people would have one type of monitor input (VGA or DVI) so they were building-in choice. By buying a second monitor with the DVI output, I was able to plug in a second monitor!

Newer docks are already on the DVI bandwagon and often come with two DVI outputs as well as the one good old VGA output. Check carefully before you buy. After you get your dock, you simply match your monitors to the output and away you go!

If you don’t yet own a dock (or port-replicator in geek-speak) you can still run duals on your laptop. You simply plug a second monitor into your laptop’s output (VGA or DVI) then boot up the laptop keeping the screen open. Once it’s booted, right-click anywhere on the screen (desktop in geek-speak). Click Properties, click Settings and tell it to Extend my Windows Desktop onto this monitor or specify both monitors as Attached depending upon what you see. If you plug a keyboard and mouse into the laptop, you don’t have to keep it up close and can even mount it on a laptop stand to raise the screen to eye level.

Now it gets cool. You can drag the monitor icons on the Settings screen left or right. This allows you to place your second screen to the left or right of your main and then roll your mouse off the left or right (depending upon where you place your monitor) of your screen and right onto the second monitor. Your cursor can fly through the thin air between two monitors!

Desktop owners, don’t start crying in your beer (or Perrier) yet. You may be able to do the same trick since most newer desktop computers support dual monitors right out of the box. You could be ready and not even know it. Look on the back of your computer (don’t sneeze from the dust). If you can find more than one VGA or DVI outputs on the video card that sticks out from the back of your computer, then you’re ready to go. Buy a second monitor with inputs that match your free output, plug it in and follow the steps above to activate it.

If you only have one output (VGA or DVI) you can haul your computer to the local geek store and they can drop in a second video card or replace your current one with a card that has dual monitor support for under $100. If you really want to create monitor envy in your friends, instead of replacing your old single card – add the second dual port card. Then, if you have the wall space, you can have three monitors! You’ll triple your work output.

There is one other option for the spacially challenged. At home, I don’t have the desk space for duals, instead I had to compromise and install just one freakin’ huge 26″ wide-screen monitor. YEAH, BABY! It’s like sitting in the first row of a movie theater and I love it. It’s big enough that I can open two slightly narrower versions of the dual windows I use at work without feeling (too) compromised by the smaller space and it keeps me from getting claustrophobic. If you don’t have enough desk space for duals, take my advice and do the next best thing, “Go wide, young CLNC^® consultant!”

Time to tech-out here, so think about the duals. I’ve got to warn you – they’re addictive. Now, when I’m on a plane, train or automobile and I’m working from my laptop’s single (but wide) screen I can just about scream from frustration when I can’t work in the dual manner and style to which I have become accustomed.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

P.S. Comment and share your experiences with dual or more! monitors.

On March 4^th the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case in favor of consumer rights, one that has the potential to reach further than first appearance. In the case of Wyeth v. Levine the Court upheld a $6.7 million verdict in which the jury found that Wyeth’s label had inadequate warnings, thus ruling against the drug manufacturer Wyeth. In doing so, the court allowed state juries to award damages for harm done by unsafe drugs, even in cases where the drugs had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In 2000, Ms. Levine, attended a health clinic for treatment of a migraine, received Phenergan^® via IV-push (despite the warnings) directly into a vein, reaching an artery and causing gangrene. She eventually lost her arm. She had previously settled with the clinic.

Wyeth had argued that Ms. Levine was preempted from suing because Phenergan^® was FDA approved. They argued that FDA approval freed Wyeth from liability for damages caused by the drug. Unlike certain medical device cases (see Riegel v. Medtronic) in which federal statutory law expressly barred certain state claims, in this case Wyeth relied on what could be termed an implied preemption from the federal approval, not on any express language in a statute enacted by Congress. Wyeth claimed in part that it could not comply with its state law duties of providing clear instruction and stricter warnings on the label or the federal labeling requirements.

The Court disagreed (6-3) and may have opened the door for more products liability lawsuits, or a flood of companies seeking direct regulation and protection. Drug companies and other businesses have sought federal regulation believing it would shield them from liability damage caused by their products.

For the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant this helps widen the field of products liability cases to include those products that are not specifically exempted by federal statute. Both plaintiff and defense will have plenty to keep busy for years after this case. Remember as a legal nurse consultant, your job is not to know the law, but to know what caused the injury, its extent and how it could have been prevented.

Success Is Inside!

I doubt any of us, as CLNC^® consultants, ever forget our first case. Mine is most memorable for several different reasons. I learned so much, some of it the hard way. I had earned my CLNC^® Certification a few months earlier and used Vickie’s advice regarding marketing myself by mailing out my resume with my qualifications and a cover letter, then followed up with a phone call. One attorney had a case on his desk, which had been referred to him by another attorney. The case involved a potential client who lived out of state. The attorney drove approximately six hours one way to interview the potential client and his wife. He felt there was probable merit to the case but he needed someone to review the records. He had filed the proper notices to all the possible defendants of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

I was so excited the day the records arrived at my home. There was a large amount of records as the potential plaintiff had a five-week hospital stay with numerous complications. So I began the screening process.

The potential plaintiff, Mr. Smith, had recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and had a mediport placed for chemotherapy treatments. However, the symptoms of a pre-existing esophageal diverticulum had become so pronounced that he decided to have an elective excision of the diverticulum with a myotomy before starting chemo treatments. Mr. Smith had an extensive medical history including a previous heart attack with placement of a stent, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, three back surgeries and diabetes.

Mr. Smith experienced several complications after the first surgery, one of which made it necessary for placement of a chest tube, which was done at the bedside by the surgeon. Mrs. Smith alleged she had not been called at home for permission so proper consent was not given for the procedure and it caused Mr. Smith excruciating pain, which resulted in a second heart attack and a transfer to ICU.

The dots just weren’t connecting. Something wasn’t right. Mr. Smith had a second heart attack which was confirmed by the medical records, but how could I prove what happened to him? How could pain from the chest tube insertion, etc., cause the second heart attack? He already had a stent resulting from the first MI, combined with the high cholesterol and diabetes.

So here I go, back to my Core Curriculum for Legal Nurse Consulting^® textbook. It almost jumped out at me, as if a light bulb had suddenly come on in my head! In Module 3, “Theories of Liability and Defenses Used in Medical-Related Cases,” it discusses the four legal elements, which must be satisfied to prove negligence: duty, breach of duty, damages and causation. The definition for causation pretty much says it all: “A reasonable connection between the acts of negligence and the alleged damages.” I felt the other three elements of duty, breach of duty, and damages were satisfied, but not the element of causation. So I read further. Under, “Factors to consider when evaluating causation,” it lists as one of the factors, “Past medical history and pre-existing conditions.” And I continued to read and in Module 5, “How to Screen Medical-Related Cases Effectively and Efficiently,” Vickie discusses defensible cases which plaintiff attorneys frequently reject because of pre-existing conditions.

So here I am feeling pretty good about myself. I am ready to type my letter to the attorney advising him that in my opinion, his case does not have merit. I used one of the samples provided in the Core Curriculum to ensure my opinion sounded professional. I relayed to the attorney that I felt Mrs. Smith had some legitimate complaints regarding Mr. Smith’s hospital stay and that while it was sad he had experienced numerous complications, it was my opinion that the element of causation could not adequately be satisfied due to Mr. Smith’s past medical history and pre-existing conditions and then I went on to list all the pre-existing conditions.

The attorney very politely informed me that he wanted me to list the deviations from the standards of care and then he would make the decision whether the case had merit.

In a much later phone conversation, the attorney stated, “Ms. Holmes you were right in the first place.” Well, needless to say, this made me feel pretty good.

There are many things I learned from my first case. One of the most important things is to communicate thoroughly upfront with your attorney-client. Don’t assume anything. If in doubt, ask questions. I think there are many attorneys, especially attorneys in small firms who have not worked with a CLNC^® consultant before and really do not know how much help we can be to them.

I have twenty-two years of nursing experience and am confident regarding my nursing skills and judgment, but I am still building confidence as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. Owning a legal nurse consulting business is entirely different from what I have been accustomed to doing for a paycheck. This case did boost my confidence. My first conclusion was correct and the attorney finally agreed. If we are not honest with our attorney-clients about our findings, we both will come out losers in the end.

I believe everything we need to be a successful CLNC^® consultant is included in the Core Curriculum for Legal Nurse Consulting^® textbook and the lectures that go along with it. Vickie’s CLNC^® Mentoring Program is invaluable. Each time I have used the mentoring program, my questions were answered in a very timely manner, sometimes within a couple of hours. I live in a small town and I feel isolated at times. With the mentoring program, no matter what the question is, support is readily available.

We have to make the decision to take the plunge. For me, I thought about it for approximately four years. And you know what, it’s scary. But I believe with Vickie’s help and persistence it’s possible to be a successful CLNC^® consultant.

P.S. Please comment and share your most memorable CLNC^® case.

Guest Blogger Profile

Peggy Holmes RN, ONC, CLNC owns and operates Holmes Legal Nurse Consulting in Arkansas. She has 22 years of nursing experience and currently works part time in The Women’s Center at the local hospital. She consults on medical related cases and specializes in orthopedics, pediatric and med-surg cases.

Vickie,

One of my attorney-clients is willing to provide a letter of recommendation but he wants me to write it, then he will edit and sign. What do I include?

Kerri, RN, CLNC

Hi Kerri,

Congratulations! Letters of recommendation are one of the most impactful components of a legal nurse consultant’s promotional package. When an attorney first asked me to write my own letter I felt uncomfortable. How could I blow my own horn? You may be hesitant too, but go ahead – blow your own horn.

Include comments the attorney made when gushing over your work product, and especially comments regarding:

• The CLNC^® services you provided for his cases.
• How you made a huge impact on the outcome of a case.
• Your report style and its easy-to-understand format.
• Your knowledge of nursing and healthcare issues.
• Your professionalism and ability to beat deadlines.

Here’s a future tip: Capture all glowing comments and get written permission to use them as testimonials. Then place them strategically throughout your CLNC^® marketing materials.

Success Is Inside!

Vickie