January 2011

The government recently announced that it would fund a billion-dollar government-run drug development center to help create new drugs. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences will be tasked with creating new drugs and, according to the Director of the NIH, “any project that reaches the point of commercial appeal would be moved out of the academic support line and into the private sector.”

I already have strong feelings about the government’s involvement in the private sector and business. I have even stronger feelings about the government spending enormous amounts of taxpayer money to get into the pharmaceutical business.

We also need to ask who will be responsible and liable for the defective or dangerous drugs that will reach the market. Who will pay for the lives damaged by the unforeseen side-effects of these government-created drugs? The federal government will certainly cloak themselves with immunity. The private sector distributors or marketers will certainly negotiate their own liability to a minimum. Does this mean that all government drugs will carry a disclaimer of liability? Has anyone asked, much less answered, these questions?

I asked my nursing and Certified Legal Nurse Consultants friends on Facebook what they thought of the announcement. Here are some of their responses:

“I work in government – it seems to me if the concern is the slow pace, putting it in the hands of bureaucrats will not help.”

“The Government has absolutely no business in the private sector. Big problem currently. I would encourage everyone to go back and read the documents of our Founding Fathers and then ask yourselves these two questions. How in the world did Americans survive and thrive for the first 150 years or so? Why are Americans becoming more unhealthy and dying at younger ages? I don’t believe the increasing health issues are related to a lack of drugs that’s for sure.”

“This stinks. How many more chemicals are we going to throw into people’s bodies? How many more heart attacks, strokes, paralysis, etc are we going to cause by using invented medicines? Maybe doing research on alternative supplements would be the better suggestion. There may be more money in prevention…wow prevention.”

“If God meant us to eat from a carton or heal ourselves from a bottle, he would have hung those items on the trees or stacked them on the forest/ocean floors for us to find!”

“My first thought is that soon we will ALL be working for the government regardless of what field we are in! From my understanding, the FDA takes a long time to approve the use of any new drugs, much longer than many other countries. I wonder if this process will speed up when the government is making the new drugs?”

“I look at it this way! Where is the government when it comes to regulating cost of insurance? Well we’ve all seen what that has cost the nursing field… more patient to nursing ratio without regards to what it cost as far as quality nursing care. I feel that it will be a great injustice to the welfare of future nurse patient care. Lord Please help us all if this comes to pass.”

“No! Government is too involved in health care as it is.”

“Government has all it can handle dealing with government. They don’t need to be involved in developing drugs, banking or any other business.”

“This can best be done in the private sector. If the government would have stayed out of healthcare to start, new drug research would continue apace. Show me anything the government has done in a cost-effective efficient manner! It doesn’t happen. And where is the constitutional authority for federal government drug development?”

“I think the government has more than enough on their plate as it is without trying to branch out into places it knows just about nothing about!”

“If the government delves into research and development, who will provide oversight?”

“Although I don’t believe that the government needs to “control” our health care, I do believe that in this day and age and in this great country everyone deserves access to quality health care! The drug and insurance companies are running-or should I say ruining our country.”

“Fiscally, there is always the catch that government is spending someone else’s money for someone else’s benefit – Never a fiscally sound arrangement!”

“We have become so dependent on pharmaceuticals in this country! We want tiny little pills to fix everything – including poor decision making! Now please excuse me while I go pour another cup of coffee and snack on some potato chips!”

“The federal government should keep their hands off of drug research. The federal government shouldn’t waste their energies but rather concentrate on economic problems pertaining to healthcare like the jobless RN professionals who settle for a meager income. Think of a decent program for the new RN grads.”

“I am an RN who has thirty years of pharmaceutical clinical research experience and this is the scariest thing that I have heard yet. People may balk about the 10 years and one billion dollars in research money that it takes to develop a drug but this is how we ensure that patients are safe and our drugs are safe. Hasn’t the government gotten in the way of enough? Who makes them experts on research? Where are the statisticians, chemists, preclinical people and clinical people to develop these compounds? Scary as all heck.”

As you can see, not a single nurse thinks this is a good decision. Here’s another interesting question: Why are nurses left out of these important decisions?

Success Is Inside!

Last night I roasted a chicken for dinner and Tom declared that it was the best roast chicken he’d ever eaten. Even I had to admit it was darned good. But I didn’t set out to roast a superlative chicken; I set out to make a quick and easy dinner. So how did I get to superlative? Easy. Cooking, like legal nurse consulting, starts with the right tools. The right tools, whether it’s my favorite antique cast iron roasting pan or your CLNC^® Certification Program, can enhance even the most inexperienced person’s abilities. The right tools make me a better cook and they can make you a better Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. 

I rarely use recipes when cooking and if I do, I make them my own, modifying them on the fly. But before roasting last night’s chicken I looked to Thomas Keller’s cookbook for his recipe. There I found two small tweaks that made a huge difference – first drying the chicken completely and then roasting it at 475 degrees instead of at 350° or 375° which makes the chicken very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 

Today, I challenge you not to roast a better chicken, but to go back to your CLNC^® Certification Program and Core Curriculum for Legal Nurse Consulting^®, pull out one or two instructions for anything from marketing to report writing and use them, not just to tweak your CLNC^® business, but to propel you to the next level.

 Success Is Inside!

Today I’ll tell you how to eliminate something that’s extremely annoying, but we’ll do it by attempting something risky. We’re going to eliminate those goofy pop-up balloons that show up in the bottom right side of your computer screen (also known as the “System Tray”) when you send a legal nurse consulting report to your printer or when your computer discovers a wireless network is available. If you don’t have a problem with those pop-up notifications, skip today’s Tech Tip and come back next week for something completely different.

I haven’t figured out how to do this in Windows 7 yet, but if you’re using Microsoft^® XP or Vista^® and want to rid yourself of these pop-up notification balloons, it can be done. It is slightly complicated and should only be attempted by a highly-skilled and trained professional Certified Legal Nurse Consultant or their tech-skilled troubleshooting 13-year-old computer wizard. I call it risky because we’ll be editing your Windows^® Registry. Normally when I think of editing the Registry the famous hockey phrase “Get the puck out of there!” comes to mind. But it’s really not as dangerous as I make it sound, especially if you tread carefully. I will warn you that if you mess up the Registry you can screw your computer up for life so be careful.

With careful in mind, the prudent CLNC^® consultant’s first step is to decide whether or not you want to back up your Registry before attempting this Tech Tip, so you can restore a corrupted Registry (maybe). If you want to back it up, visit Microsoft’s site here and follow the easy instructions on how to do that. It’s probably not a bad idea to do this at least once a year. I like to live dangerously (I eat sushi, wear a Yankees ball cap in Texas and even follow my own Tech Tips.) so I didn’t back mine up.

Your second step is easy: get started! First left click on the Start button at the bottom left of your screen (unless you’ve moved the taskbar) then left click on “Run.” Type the word “regedit” into the box and hit enter. You’ll now be in the Windows Registry Editor.

Once there, click the plus (“+”) sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER to expand the list. Next click on the plus sign next to “Software” and expand that list. Now click on the plus sign next to “Microsoft” and then on the plus sign by “Windows.” Hang on tight, you’re almost there. Next, click on the plus sign next to “CurrentVersion” and finally on the plus sign next to “Explorer.”

Now the fun starts! Right click on the folder labeled “Advanced” and select “New” and then “DWORD Value.” In the “New Value” box type in “EnableBalloonTips.” Once you’ve done that, double click on your new “EnableBalloonTips” value and set the value data to “0” (zero). While that box is open, make sure the radio button next to Hexadecimal under “Base” is selected. When all that is done click “OK.” When the box disappears, exit the Registry Editor window like you would any other window.

Your final, final step is to reboot your computer so those pesky little balloons will plague you no more! Now when you send that report you’ve written for your favorite attorney-client to your printer you won’t have to see the pop-up message telling you what you just did! Next week we’ll try something simpler (hopefully).

Keep on techin’,

Tom

Yesterday someone I met asked me: “Vickie, of the places you’ve been, what is your all-time favorite trip?” I’m not a fan of this question because every trip is a favorite in its own way. My response yesterday was the same as it’s been for 12 years: “If I can only pick one, it would have to be Nepal.” Nepal was my first expedition, so I felt daring, rugged and adventurous. I also fell in love with the incredible contrasts there.

The Himalayas were the most stunning mountains I’ve ever seen and I hiked on trails that were carved by generations of use and felt like sacred ground. The dramatic mountains and 14,500 feet of altitude took my breath away. With every step I took I simply marveled at what I saw. To this day I’ve seen nothing that rivals the beauty or the thrill of my first view of Mount Everest.

If there was a counterpoint to the beauty of the surroundings, it was the places we stayed. I’ve done the camping thing. It’s great; I love being in nature no matter the weather and I don’t mind getting really wet or dirty. But after a long day of hiking I enjoy a hot shower, a good meal and nice surroundings. There were few of those in Nepal. Some of the places we stayed were downright dirty. The communal toilet (if there even was one) was often overflowing and covered in a combination of excrement and urine. Luckily, my hospital experience with all sorts of bodily fluids helped me to cope and being a nurse I knew how to use a toilet without touching anything but I quickly started looking forward to using a hole in the ground instead of a Nepalese toilet.

Then, there were the uncomfortable beds made from 2x4s covered by mattresses stuffed with “local materials” shaved from a zopkio. They didn’t bring me joy. When Tom and I zipped into our sleeping bags at night, it was for protection from the mattress and whatever was living in it more than the elements. It almost made me wish we were camping outside, not tea-house trekking. Next there were the four minutes of luke-warm, sun-still-heated water per person. Tom and I made the most of that one. Don’t get excited though – any flames of romance were quickly extinguished when the water returned to freezing in the 9th minute.

Finally there was the food. Being an Italian gal from New Orleans I live to eat, so Tom was shocked to find that not only was I not eating, I had no appetite whatsoever. After three days he watched me practically have a foodgasm at the discovery of a dubious-looking jar of American peanut butter.

Despite the worst food and the worst accommodations of my life, Nepal was my favorite trip.

Sometimes the most rewarding and enjoyable things come with some discomfort. This applies to our legal nurse consulting businesses too. We can be working away in a business we love, on a case we’re interested in or a challenging project and then something happens and suddenly the day turns bad. What do we do – lose our momentum and quit? No, we have to push through it. When this happens at my office, I’ll joke with my staff and say “Hey, if this business was easy everyone would be doing it.” I think that’s what makes any business, especially legal nurse consulting, so rewarding.

We often think easy or soft is what we want, but what we really want is something that will challenge us and in the challenge we find a special reward. To be in Nepal, I needed to work to get there. Enjoying the Himalayas involved not only bad food and accommodations, it also included training for long and high-altitude hiking we’d be doing and traveling almost halfway around the world to get there. One day we walked for 12 hours to get to the next tea-house (breaks not included). At first I resisted the discomforts but on Day 4 of the trek I woke up very hungry for even bad food and on that day had the epiphany, “Without the discomforts I wouldn’t be having this wondrous experience.” Suddenly I was all in, truly alive and savoring each and every moment.

Embrace the discomforts of your own CLNC^® expedition, whether it’s a prospect call, writing a challenging report or simply emptying the trash can in your office. When you embrace the discomforts you’ll wake up to each and every moment and opportunity available to you for your legal nurse consulting business.

Also, vow to do something each day that makes you uncomfortable. It could be offering a new CLNC^® service to your attorney-clients, finally attacking and organizing that mountain of paperwork or simply making a call to retie the connection with an attorney-client you haven’t spoken to for some time. Pick something that you’ve been resistant to and see how it makes you feel when you’ve completed it. There just might be a greater payoff or reward than you expect. You may feel like you’re climbing Mount Everest but think of the view from the top!

Success Is Inside!

My staff at Vickie Milazzo Institute is strong, opinionated and sometimes even mouthy – just the way I like them. When we hire a new employee I sometimes notice that at first they’re reluctant to give an opinion that’s different from the majority of the outspoken staffers. They are often a little slow to speak up and when they do it’s obvious they’re just tagging onto the others. It’s like the new person is afraid to get off the fence and jump down onto either side until they know what side everybody else is on. Here in Texas, if you’re sitting on a fence in a pasture full of longhorn cattle that may be a good idea. But when you’re in my conference room, it’s not a tactic for success with me or with the rest of the staff.

Here’s what happens when someone is just sucking up to me or a manager or the group at large and not really speaking for themselves; they get zero credit for their input. Their light, if any, may as well be under a bushel. If I wanted to hear a parrot, I would have hired one. Instead, I hired them for their expertise and I want to hear their opinion – whether I agree with it or not.

This sucking up temptation also applies to you as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. When you’re in an attorney’s office discussing a case, that attorney doesn’t want you to be a “yes” person.

Attorneys are used to thinking for themselves and they expect the same of their CLNC^® consultants. They are used to intelligent disagreement and are trained to see both sides of an issue. They don’t need you to suck up; they need you to give them your professional opinion which should include both the strengths and weaknesses of the case (what I call “the good, the bad and the ugly”). That will help them cover all the issues and give them the ability to make their own intelligent decisions and judgments about the case. Knowing the strengths of the case is of little value if the attorney is blindsided by the “bad” side of the case at trial or in settlement conference.

When your attorney-clients get to trial, they’ll thank you for being your own person, even if that means sometimes giving opinions they clearly did not want to hear.

At Vickie Milazzo Institute I encourage people to speak up. New attorney-clients might not be as kind in helping you to develop your confidence. Don’t keep your light under a bushel – speak up and speak out.

Success Is Inside!

Yet another question I get, “Can I buy equipment and software for my legal nurse consulting business from sources other than legitimate retailers?” For office furniture or equipment such as filing cabinets, etc. you can save some money buying from Craigslist or other used equipment sites. If you’re buying electronic printers, copiers, scanners, etc. you run the risk of getting something damaged or worse, compromised goods.

For software outside of “recognized channels,” the answer for me is an unequivocal “no.” Buy Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software only. When you buy software from a third-party reseller who is not a licensed retailer, you risk getting counterfeit software which is often buggy, may contain malware, could harm your computer or possibly void your computer’s warranty. Sometimes, you may buy used or resealed software that’s already been registered to someone else – so you’re out your money and often have no recourse against a phantom seller.

Any Certified Legal Nurse Consultant from the East Coast knows the term “It fell off a truck.” I don’t care if the software fell off the tailgate of Bill Gates’ 1989 Ford F-150, if it doesn’t come from a legitimate retailer with its own license key, don’t buy it, no matter how good the deal is. Remember, if it’s too good to be true it probably is.

My CLNC^® amigos, it’s in your own best interest to stay away from after-market, gray-market, farmers’ market and online auction site software. No matter how painful it feels, spend the extra dollars and buy a properly licensed copy. Your computer’s integrity, the integrity of your data and your own integrity are worth it in the long run.

As they say in church (I’m sure you’ve heard it as least once.), “Thus endeth the lesson for today” and as I say here at the Institute, “Thus endeth the tech tip for today.”

Keep on techin’,

Tom

I am so enjoying all of your communications in anticipation of the 2011 NACLNC^® Conference cruise. I can’t wait to spend those seven days with all of you. Until we meet up on March 13th, here are 15 ideas for having the most fun possible on our cruise.

1. Be on the lookout for fun and games. Besides the usual suspects of Bingo and the casino, there are card games, scavenger hunts, late-night game shows in Studio B (not for children or the weak of heart) and other activities (like the rock-climbing wall) all day and practically all night if you want. Unless your sole ambition is to be the anchor-person in the tug of war, you’ll need to save some energy for the CLNC^® Beach Olympics.
2. But at the same time, RELAX. It’s more than an educational experience. It’s a cruise, a vacation and your chance to get away. If you try and do everything you’ll wear yourself out so save some time for just you! Plan on spending some time at the spa and treat yourself to a massage, facial or a mani-pedi.
3. Take some time out for a meal. Everyone jokes about how much food is available on a cruise ship, but do more than just eat. Your CLNC^® colleagues will be instantly recognizable by the pirate booty we’ll be passing out at Registration so every time you sit down for a meal look for a new networking opportunity. I know it’s fun to eat with your family, but while your spouse is climbing the rock wall and your children are surfing the FlowRider^®, take some time to make a new friend. Find another CLNC^® subcontractor or retie the connection with one of your classmates from the CLNC^® Certification Seminar.
4. Have some fun in the sun. Remember to pack plenty of sunscreen. You’ll need it every day. If you bring a big, floppy hat, make sure it has a chin-strap to keep it from blowing overboard when it blows off (and it will).
5. When it gets too hot (and it will), put yourself on ice – skates that is! There’s a great ice skating rink available and no better way to create a unique memory of the Caribbean than by ice skating hand-in-hand with your partner (or a new one) or just taking the time to perfect your triple axel.
6. Check out a sunset or a sunrise at sea. There are few things more beautiful than a sunset at sea. As an added bonus they’re free! Get out on deck either just before sunset or early in the morning (even if it means staying up all night).
7. Take a walk in the moonlight. If you’re out late, the period just after the late seating dinner is a terrific time to stroll the deck with someone special, a good friend or just by yourself. That’s when Tom and I will sneak up to the front of the ship and take turns doing the Titanic thing (he tends to hog).
8. Leave your inner introvert at home. With the exception of your CLNC^® colleagues, you’ll probably never, ever see your fellow travelers again so let yourself shine! If you can juggle jellyfish try out for the talent night. Find that dark karaoke bar and sing your lungs out or maybe even take that turn Dancing with the CLNC^® Stars at one of the many onboard clubs. You’ll probably find me in the hip-hop club bustin’ a move (or two). I’m glad I’ll be surrounded by nurses if I bust something else.
9. Anticipate smooth sailing, but prepare for heavy seas (not CLNC^® consultants). If you don’t know whether or not you suffer from sea-sickness make a stop at your local drugstore and stock up on Dramamine^®, Bonine^® or those small wristlets that activate your pressure-points. All work equally well. If in doubt you can also ask a friendly doc to prescribe one of the patches. Just a warning, the patch is known to make you groggy (But you’ll save money on drinks!).
10. When in port, explore more than the surf. On St. Thomas and St. Maarten, get out and explore the island before you hit the beach. You’ll have more than enough beach-time at Coco Cay in the Bahamas and, to most of us, beaches look the same everywhere (think about it, sand, crystal-blue water, palm trees and cabana boys in Speedos^®). Soak up some of the local traditions and culture first, then hit the beach where you can relax on the sand with one of those cold drinks with the little umbrellas. The memories will last longer than a tan and won’t itch like sand in your swimsuit.
11. Wear your souvenirs. Over fifty percent of cruisers buy souvenirs. I don’t know how many bedazzled starfishes you need, but t-shirts make great souvenirs. Plan on wearing  them on board and it’s less you have to pack. Of course, you may need to bring an extra fold-up bag to get all those dirty souvenir tees home (and maybe a haz-mat tag to keep TSA from searching your luggage).
12. Churn and burn! Let’s face it, you’re going to be eating more than you’re used to. You may even eat more than you’ve ever dreamed of (or maybe you have). For some reason, calories build up faster on a cruise ship than you can infiltrate an IV. Ameliorate some of the effects by taking a walk around the deck and skipping the elevators when moving between decks. If you’re serious about exercise there’s a great health club onboard so you can pump some iron for long-lasting calorie burn. But if you’re only going for the treadmill, why not breathe the fresh air on deck while you walk?
13. Hang up the phone and turn off the laptop. You can buy an hourly, wireless Internet pass once you get onboard to avoid international roaming charges on your laptop. That way you can update your Facebook status with all the fun you’re having and communicate with your attorney-clients. Keep your cell phone switched off or in “airplane mode” so as not to incur expensive international calling rates (except on St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands)). Check with your carrier before you go to be sure you know what you’re getting into. I’m looking forward to seven days without my iPhone^® and email. Really, I really am.
14. Buy yourself a round, or two or three. I know some of you are so tough that you take your caffeine cold instead of warmed up and poured into a coffee cup. Soda bills can add up quickly onboard, especially if you’re traveling with children. Save yourself a few dollars by purchasing an all-you-can-drink soda plan before or after you board. Even though you’ll be surrounded by water, if you want bottled water you can buy a water package in advance too. Finally, if you like your wine (I do), you can purchase a wine plan in advance. My last information was that pricing varies with the quality of the swill so call Royal Caribbean at 800-555-WINO for pricing and wine options (just kidding, the number to call is 800.398.9819).
15. Don’t miss the special NACLNC^® Networking Events. We have a raft (no pun intended) of special events planned for you and you want to make sure you don’t schedule that massage with Rolando and his magic fingers during any one of them. Remember also that your family, cruise companions and cabin mates are invited to ALL of the networking functions. Look for me, your CLNC^® peers and the pirate flags.
    
    • Sunday, March 13 from 1:30pm-4:00pm – MANDATORY NACLNC^® Conference Registration. Go to the Conference Center on Deck 2 to sign in and collect your CLNC^® Pirate Booty. This will be the only registration day and if you miss it, you’ll end up walking the plank and won’t get to attend any of the extraordinary sessions or events listed below! Get registered early so you can be on deck when the ship sails at 4:00pm.
    • Every evening at 8:30pm – NACLNC^® Networking Dinners. Every evening starting at 8:30pm, join your fellow CLNC^® Pirates of the Caribbean in the Main Dining Room for late-seating dinner. We have a special section just for CLNC^® consultants, their guests and families. To make the most out of this unique opportunity, be sure to sit with someone new every evening. Nothing’s better than networking over dessert!
    • Monday, March 14 from 7:45am-3:00pm – CLNC^® Beach Party at Coco Cay. Find us on the beach at Coco Cay and join your CLNC^® shipmates and their travel companions for some quality beach time, sand in your swimsuit and an open air lunch in on Coco Cay. Then, from 10:00am-1:00pm, help make American Gladiator look like a kindergarten recess with our exclusive CLNC^® Beach Olympics. You can choose to play, participate, cheerlead or just heckle the amateur Olympians. CLNC^® consultants, families and friends of all ages are invited. We’ll have beach games for all skill levels (including total lack of skills). A fun time is guaranteed for the survivors and spectators.
    • Monday, March 14 7:30p-8:30pm – Captain’s Welcome Aboard Reception in Pharaoh’s Lounge and it’s formal night, so put on your tux, little black dress or something fancy so you can strut your CLNC^® stuff at our 8:30pm NACLNC^® Networking Dinner! After dinner if you want, hit the ship’s casino while we’re dressed and we’ll all look like extras from a James Bond movie!
    • Tuesday, March 15 from 7:45am-2:30pm – NACLNC^® Poolside Networking and Pickle Eating Contest. I’m just kidding about the pickles but serious about the networking. Join us anytime at poolside for some networking and tanning. Hang out with your CLNC^® colleagues and their guests for a few minutes, a few hours or the entire day. Just bring plenty of sunscreen and remember, this is the one time it’s okay to look like an iced wedding cake. One reminder, no Speedos^® are allowed (Sorry!).
    • Tuesday, March 15 at 3:00pm – Matinée Ice Show. Take a break from the poolside networking, slip on your jeans and join us in Studio B on Deck 3 at 3:00pm for a performance by the Freedom of the Seas ice skating team. Just like a hockey game, seats near the ice go quick so you’ll want to be on time for this “cool” show and find room in our special seating area (limited seating)!
    • Tuesday, March 15 from 7:15pm-8:15pm – Private NACLNC^® Welcome Reception. Get dressed for networking success and boogie back down to Studio B. If you’re not bringing your spouse (or they’ve already walked the plank), bring your cruising companions or cabin mates instead!
    • Friday, March 18 at 7:00pm – Special CLNC^® Night at the Arcadia Theatre. We’re turning the “dinner and a show” formula upside down. Before we go to dinner, we’ll enjoy one of the ship’s special shows with our own special CLNC^® consultant and guest-only seating section (limited seating). Join us on Deck 2 in the Arcadia Theatre at 7:00pm for what’s guaranteed to be the biggest show you’ll see that night! As an added bonus, it’s formal night again so we’ll all look pretty swell when we parade to dinner after our show. Heads are sure to turn when we enter the Main Dining Room. I’m sure you’ll want to be there.
    • Saturday, March 19 from 7:15pm-8:15pm – Private NACLNC^® Farewell Reception. It will be our last night on the ship and what better night for a farewell reception (funny how we worked that out)? Time to toss your shawl over your shoulder in your best mysterious woman manner (guys can wear mirrored sunglasses) and head back to Studio B for the last time to raise a farewell toast to all your new best CLNC^® friends. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll have some hors d’oeurves and possibly a drink or two or three.

Finally, remember you’re not there just to have fun, you’re there for the premier educational and networking experience for legal nurse consultants. Yes, that means you do have to come to class but we’ve scheduled them for the last two days when we’re at sea so you’ll be tired of all the fun, ready to quit relaxing and yearning to sink your teeth into some great content.

Success Is On Board!

Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, there’s a great quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that states: Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

Like everybody, I have days that are bogged down with events and other people’s stuff that de-energize me. But my best days are those where I exchange ideas with my team at Vickie Milazzo Institute, business colleagues, friends, family and Tom. Eleanor Roosevelt was right. Expanding and stretching of the mind by exchanging ideas create success.

Today I want you to be an honest observer of every single thought and use your nursing assessment skills to analyze whether your thoughts are serving you and your purpose. Are you thinking about ideas for your legal nurse consulting business? Or, are you spending your thoughts on the latest incident on your unit or something going on in Washington that’s beyond your circle of influence? Or worse, are you thinking about another person in a negative way? It’s easy to be pulled into a negative cycle, but with a little practice it’s just as easy to get into a positive cycle.

Eleanor tells us where we need to concentrate our energies to become more than we are. Today, consider whether your own thoughts are energizing and supporting, or whether they are detracting from where you want to be for 2011. Once you are aware of your pattern of thinking, you can decide to make a change.

Today, I’m striving to be a great mind. How about you?

Success Is Inside!

That’s one of the most common questions I get from Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. How many of you have wondered whether or not you should purchase an extended warranty when you buy a new piece of tech gear? The answer, like my answer to almost any question, is unequivocal: it depends.

Why does it depend? If you buy something electric, check the seller’s and the manufacturer’s warranties and ask yourself, ‘are these good warranties?’ Most tech gear will probably break or fail in the first year if it’s going to. I’ve got 25 or more computers here at the Institute and all the ones that failed either did so right away or died of old age, despite the pleas from Dell^® to renew my expired service contracts. Occasionally someone will drop and break a laptop, but that’s a different story.

What’s the difference between an extended warranty and a service contract? A warranty covers defects in the hardware while a service contract covers costs of repairs – sometimes they cover the same thing, sometimes not. The service contract might allow for onsite service and replacement parts while the warranty requires that you return the device to the manufacturer. Between the two, a service contract is preferable.

But the question still remains, do I buy one or the other? The answer depends upon the device you’re buying. I’m hard on laptops because of traveling so I buy the extended service contract to get three years of onsite service. With my iPhone^® I purchased AppleCare^® (and a bulky, rubber OtterBox Defender case) just in case I drop it and break the screen. If you’re buying a desktop computer, big-screen TV or printer – I probably wouldn’t. For the most part equipment will outlive the warranty and the service contract but the choice is still up to you, especially if the piece of equipment is critical to your legal nurse consulting business (we have contracts on all of our servers plus we buy the software support) or is difficult to move (the 72” flat-screen, 3-D TV you bought with the fee from your first case). Overall the consensus is still against buying the extended warranty or service contract.

So my CLNC^® amigos, the take-away for today is that if technology is going to fail and it doesn’t in the first year, it will generally fail after the warranty and/or service contract runs out. Buy a 2-3 year onsite parts and service contract and start saving for your next computer. By the time yours fails you’ll be ready for a cooler, faster machine.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

I’ve just returned from what Tom and I call our Great Christmas Migration. Every year over Christmas and New Year’s we crisscross the country visiting family and friends, and then we close out the year with renewal time for just the two of us. On one flight, after putting away our electronics and during the landing pattern, I was catching up on my reading. I was struck by an article on the Great Migrations in the November, 2010 issue of National Geographic Magazine. The article spoke to the way migrating animals become so focused on their mission that they pass up the opportunity to eat. It mentioned one of my least favorite birds, the Arctic Tern. Remembering being attacked by them in Iceland, I talk about them in the video below.

Now, unlike those birds, I’m not one to pass up a meal, but I strongly believe that there are times when we must place ourselves in a state of discomfort in order to reach the next level. As we start 2011, I’m asking myself, “What must I give up or do to take my business to the next level”? Now that we’re no longer worried about our New Year’s resolutions, it’s time to ask yourself “What am I willing to do to take my business as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant to the next level”?

Success Is Inside!