Articles by Vickie

Welcome all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who are taking the stage for legendary CLNC^® success in Nashville for the 2010 NACLNC^® Conference. I hope you’re as thrilled as I am about this year’s show-stopping performances by the CLNC^® Pros, keynote speaker, Genevieve Bos and Tom’s comedy.

Since our Conference theme is Take the Stage for Legendary CLNC^® Success, here are some tips that will help you discover the award-winning secrets to achieve legendary CLNC^® stardom.

1. Stay connected with me and your CLNC^® peers on Facebook throughout the NACLNC^® Conference. Share the sessions you’re loving, the restaurant you just discovered, a new idea for your CLNC^® business, etc.
2. Kick off Day 1 with my Opening Session, Take the Stage for Legendary CLNC^® Success followed by the NACLNC^® Top 10 with Tom Ziemba.
3. Turn off your cell phone, pager, chiming watch and any other stress-producer you’ve brought with you. This is not only a courtesy to your fellow CLNC^® peers, but also a courtesy to yourself, honoring all you’ve invested to be here. (No texting either.)
4. Limit checking your email, voicemail, text messages or calling home to just once a day. But, do visit me on Facebook throughout the day to network with your CLNC^® conference peers.
5. Be open to all the new recommendations so you can achieve legendary CLNC^® success with your legal nurse consulting business.
6. Meet and get to know two new CLNC^® consultants at each break and reception. Eat lunch and dinner each day with three CLNC^® consultants you don’t know. Sell your expertise to each other. You are each other’s best resources for future CLNC^® subcontractors and experts.
7. Practice positive masterminding. Connect with two other CLNC^® consultants and mastermind together at the end of the day. Each of you will process and apply information differently. Focus only on positive ideas for your CLNC^® business. By coming together, you’ll take home new strategies you wouldn’t think of alone.
8. Don’t miss a session. Go in positively knowing that a single idea can increase your profitability 1%, 5%, even 10% and more.
9. At each session, write down at least one action step you will take to grow your CLNC^® business.
10. Commit to learn one thing from each speaker. While every presentation is packed with useful information for you, the key is being in the right mindset to grab the ideas when they come your way. I once attended a seminar where only 5% of the information was interesting and fresh. But the ideas I got from that 5% added to the growth of my company by as much as 10%. Because I was committed to learning, my mind was ready when the “good stuff” was presented.
11. Take the information presented and create your own new ideas. My goal when I sit in on a session is to come up with ideas that are even better than any I get from the speaker. This mindset will help you achieve a unique CLNC^® business – not a look-alike imitation of someone else’s.
12. Take it easy. If you allow yourself to get frustrated about anything – an airport delay or the person sitting next to you – you’re the only one who will suffer. Stay loose. If you aren’t happy with the person sitting next to you, sit next to someone else in the next session or get up and move. Stay upbeat and attract positive energy.
13. Exercise daily – even for only 20 minutes. Take a brisk walk through the hotel (the Gaylord is like a small city) and renew yourself. Visualize your CLNC^® experience as you indulge in a massage or relax in a hot tub.
14. Treat yourself to the NACLNC^® river dinner cruise, Monday March 15 on the General Jackson to network in a new way.
15. Remember to put on your comfortable CLNC^®Wear so everyone in Nashville will know you are a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.

Check back on March 17, 2010, when you can read my tips in How to Top the Charts After the 2010 NACLNC^® Conference.

Success Is Inside!

I think I must have been the last person in the world to see Avatar. Sunday, a week ago, Tom and I went with a large group of our friends (all of whom were seeing it for the second time) to see this movie. Everyone I knew who had seen it, raved about it (which seemed to be everyone I know) and I was so excited about seeing it that I even brought my own 3D glasses!

About an hour into the movie I turned to Tom, and after yanking the popcorn away from him, whispered, “If this doesn’t get Best Picture I’ll be shocked.” I loved the movie.

Last night, I watched the Academy Awards and was indeed shocked when Hurt Locker won Best Picture. In all fairness I never saw Hurt Locker and will have to add it to my list. Until then my vote is still Avatar. Not only was it entertaining, Certified Legal Nurse Consultants can learn several lessons from director, James Cameron. The lessons all stem from an opinion I feel strongly about after growing my successful legal nurse consulting business for 28 years – the experts are often wrong and you shouldn’t always listen to them!

Think about it. Hollywood experts said audiences won’t go see an intelligent movie; that they only want gross-out, teen-style comedies or star-driven vehicles where the star walks through his role in his sleep. Cameron ignored them and penned a movie that required your full attention and one that put its leading characters into unrecognizable avatars.

The experts say the attention span of audiences cap out after 80-90 minutes and that audiences won’t sit for a movie that runs 162 minutes caption-to-credit. Cameron ignored that line of thinking and cut the movie he wanted audiences to see. Again, the experts were wrong to the tune of over $2.5 billion worldwide!

Experts also believed that audiences weren’t ready for full-length 3D movies other than horror, children’s or the occasional IMAX^® film. Instead of following that thinking, Cameron went out on a limb and filmed the movie in 3D applying it tastefully, without cheap shock effects. This has turned out to be one of the most popular methods to see Avatar.

Like I’ve always told CLNC^® consultants, you can’t always listen to the experts because they’re often wrong. Like James Cameron you have to make your own decisions and follow your own dreams. Like James Cameron, your CLNC^® business may not win a coveted Academy Award, but there’s nothing holding you back from trying, except the experts.

See you in the theaters!

Tax season will be here before you know it. Choosing a CPA is a necessity as you begin your legal nurse consulting business and as your CLNC^® business grows. This experience need not be a daunting one.

Match the CPA’s Service to Your Needs

Your main focus should be to match the needs of your CLNC^® business with the services provided by the CPA. CPAs can:

1. Set up your books – A CPA can help you determine your chart of accounts, set up record-keeping guidelines and generally get you started. A CPA can also review your records and tax returns to be sure you’ve made no blatant mistakes.
2. Prepare all tax returns – These can include both Federal and state tax returns for personal, corporate,  payroll, sales tax and other business-related filings. While a CPA may review returns you have prepared, the CPA will not sign off on them unless he completed the return. A CPA can also help in the event of an audit by the IRS or any other taxing authority. You may also want to consider a payroll service to handle your payroll needs, including tax filings and records compliance.
3. Provide managerial advice – A CPA who is well informed about your legal nurse consulting business can often provide tax and cost saving suggestions as well as help you make informed decisions about your business based on your financial statements and tax returns. Tax laws and reporting requirements frequently change, and helping you stay abreast of these changes is an important role of the CPA.
4. Provide complete bookkeeping services – Some CPA firms have bookkeepers on staff who perform the record-keeping the CPA requires for your financial statements and tax returns. While this service is not free, you gain billable hours to devote to your CLNC^® business at a higher billing rate than what you would pay for the bookkeeping services.
5. Help with computer applications – A CPA may be able to guide you in choosing the appropriate accounting software package for your business. Easy-to-use, complete accounting software packages, such as Quicken, Quickbooks and Peachtree are available as are tax preparation software (TurboTax, Tax Cut).

Find the Right Professional

To begin your search for the right CPA, consider networking with other business owners, family members and friends. Other sources for referrals are local legal and professional associations. Each state has an association of CPAs that can give you names. The Internet can also be a source for names of CPAs in your state. One helpful website is aicpa.org which offers a list of State Boards of Accountancy that can be accessed online to research names and verify licensing.

When you have narrowed the field, interview each candidate. Verify the CPA’s license with the respective State Board of accountancy. Take previous tax returns and financial statements with you to give each candidate a chance to understand your business. Ask what their specialties are and if they have worked with consultants or other business owners previously. Request references and contact the references, asking how helpful and accessible the CPA has been for them. If at all possible, have the CPA come to your office. This can help the CPA appreciate where you are in your business and where you want to go in the future. Your focus should be on finding an individual who is compatible with you and knowledgeable about your CLNC^® business. Assess whether the candidates have answered your questions thoroughly and used terms you understand.

Here are some additional factors to consider when choosing a CPA:

• Size
  The size of the CPA firm is important. Large firms can be costly and less likely to give you personal attention. However, they will likely provide a wider range of services than a smaller firm. A sole practitioner can provide personal attention but may offer fewer services, have less time to devote to staying current and might become overwhelmed by a growing business. You may want to start with a sole practitioner and, when your needs outgrow his services, move on to a larger firm.

• Credentials
  Check the accountant’s credentials. An individual with the CPA designation has met state licensing requirements and passed a difficult two-day national exam. CPAs who belong to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) are governed by a strict code of ethics and must complete extensive continuing education requirements. Inquire about association memberships and how active the CPA is in those organizations.

• Integrity
  Integrity and honesty are also a major consideration. Some CPAs stretch the meaning of the law. Be sure you are comfortable with the interpretation your CPA gives you. If you have any doubt about the advice the CPA gives you, get a second opinion.

Be sure to get the fee schedule in writing so you can budget to make the best use of the CPA’s time.

Don’t hesitate to replace your CPA if you find that your needs as a legal nurse consultant are not being met. When you consider the dollars you are losing by using an inefficient CPA, it will help you justify the time you will spend on a search for your new “financial partner.”

Success Is Inside!

I recently found myself in the company of a complainer and to my horror found that I was letting myself get sucked into it. Do you ever find yourself getting sucked in by people who like to complain but don’t really want to solve their problem? Well don’t.

Instead of joining the complaining party, use your precious time to solve your own problems or to enjoy your life as intended. Even 10 minutes given to a complainer (family, friend or colleague) is bound to sap your energy. Those are 10 precious minutes you could’ve been doing something for you and your legal nurse consulting business. Minutes you’ll never get back. Rather than waste them in a negative manner, do something fun for yourself. Take a relaxing mineral-salt bath, drink a glass of wine or go ahead – do both! You can also put those minutes into your CLNC^® business by working on a report or calling an attorney on your prospect list.

The next time you find yourself snared by a complainer, detach and interrupt the complaining. Before you give 10 precious minutes away to someone else’s soap opera, ask yourself if you’ll really be making a difference by listening or joining in. Or would those 10 minutes be better spent on you or something more positive?

For the next 30 days be a conscious observer of complainers in your life and conscientious of your own commitment to detach from them. When you do, your life and your legal nurse consulting business will soar.

Success Is Inside!

Here at Vickie Milazzo Institute we frequently mentor new CLNC^® graduates on creating their unique selling position (USP). Your USP communicates how your legal nurse consulting experience, nursing experience, education and leadership in nursing can specifically benefit the attorney-client with his medical-related cases. In essence, you are translating your experience into a benefit for the attorney. USP is not about you and the CLNC^® services that you provide. It is about how you translate you and your CLNC^® services into the mind of the attorney-prospect.

The important word in USP is “unique.” What can you claim that another registered nurse cannot? The most common mistake I see is including a generic quality or characteristic that any legal nurse consultant can claim such as, “I’m organized and very analytical.” Who among us would say we’re not organized and analytical? If you want to stress your analytical skills, is there a specific experience that separates you from other RNs? Here’s an example:

“Five years of experience reviewing medical records as a risk manager in a variety of specialties plus my CLNC^® Certification qualifies me to quickly and cost-effectively review cases in any medical and nursing specialty. I can save you time and money by screening cases before you pay to send them to expensive medical experts.”

A second common mistake I see is legal nurse consultants stating expertise and credentials without a benefit statement such as, “I have 10 years of experience.” The attorney might not instantly understand all the benefits these 10 years of experience offer. Here’s an example of adding a benefit statement to your experience:

“I have 10 years of emergency experience. Having worked inside emergency departments, I can share details of how emergency services are provided that you will never find in an emergency medicine textbook. This will reduce the time you’ll have to spend with expensive medical experts.”

A third mistake I see is focusing on the CLNC^® services you provide such as screening cases and analyzing causation issues. At some stage you will want to emphasize CLNC^® services you provide, but they are not a USP. CLNC^® services are common to all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. Your USP can, however, qualify you to deliver a CLNC^® service in a very unique, more qualified or more specific way. Here’s an example:

“My five years of experience in cardiology qualifies me to identify plaintiffs who have a pre-existing risk for heart attack and stroke in the defense of your Vioxx^® cases.”

Put your USP to work for your CLNC^® business with your attorney-prospects and remember to keep it unique.

Success Is Inside!

In my 2/17 blog “Ditch Unnecessary Complexities in your CLNC^® Business,” I shared the 2010 theme we adopted here at Vickie Milazzo Institute – “Ditch Unnecessary Complexities.”

One strategy to help you with this goal is to ditch perfectionism. As nurses, perfectionism is not only rewarded, it’s expected. You make a mistake and someone can die. I’m sure those kind of mistakes don’t go over well with your boss either (not to mention the patient). But do your internal documents for your legal nurse consulting business have to be so perfect? Misguided perfectionism can keep you from stepping out and going for the big things for your CLNC^® business or it can rob you of enjoying your business and your life.

I am surrounded by perfectionists (lots of Virgos) at Vickie Milazzo Institute and I often suffer from the perfectionism obsession myself. Ten drafts of a document is not uncommon. Over the years, we’ve had to acknowledge that perfectionism is important for the big things that count (like a report for your attorney-client) but can actually detract us from the big important things when we apply it to the small insignificant tasks that we all have to do. The advent of computers has made this problem worse than ever. In the old days of typewriters, it was difficult to revise and reprint a document and people were very careful about making revisions. Today, we can move a comma or a line of type and reprint it to our heart’s content without even questioning the gain.

Growing up in New Orleans, Louis Armstrong was an icon. I often think if he had been a perfectionist, we would never have heard him sing “What a Wonderful World.” The great Satchmo came close to perfection as a trumpet player, but his voice, his unique, gravelly voice was certainly untraditional – sometimes not hitting any recognizable notes, sometimes incomprehensible, but ALL THE TIME – his own unique expression of his interpretation of the music.  And it wouldn’t BE such a wonderful world without THAT song.

If you think about it, when you’re demanding perfection on the wrong stuff as a legal nurse consultant, you too miss notes, high and low. Then, instead of moving on, you’re sidelined by rejection or imperfection. Now, instead of looking at your attorney-prospect list, you’re looking in the refrigerator. And guess what? Unless you work in the morgue, there are no attorneys in the refrigerator!

Think back to the first attorney who said no to you. Is that so important today? Can you even remember that attorney’s name?

Ditch perfectionism! Lighten up when you pick up the phone for that next attorney call or write that next report. If you don’t get that perfect case, or your perfect attorney-client doesn’t give you those perfect glowing reviews, don’t give up… That’s nothing more than a perfect experience to learn from.

Only you can properly assess where it’s okay to ditch perfectionism in your CLNC^® business, but do make it a goal. When you ditch perfectionism, you free yourself to spend time on the important and BIG things that will propel your legal nurse consulting business to the next level and keep those attorney-clients coming your way.

Success Is Inside!

Nurses naturally have the strength of agility. After all, you can’t be a nurse and not be agile. When you have five people talking to you at once, and you’re handling five different emergencies at once, that takes agility. When you go from this to that, without time to think and seconds are making a difference – that’s agility. When you’re floated to a unit you know nothing about – and you don’t kill anyone – that’s agility. As nurses, we’re all over that strength, aren’t we?

But agility is more than bending over backwards to satisfy a patient or even a unit of patients. Instead of simply using your agility to cope with your nursing practice or your day-to-day life, do you use your agility to stretch and grow to new levels professionally and personally? Agility is also flexing a curiosity about what else is out there for you professionally.

Agility is also about challenging fixed viewpoints that people (like the doctors, your supervisor, your spouse) have about you and fixed viewpoints you have about yourself. When I started my legal nurse consulting business, I had to challenge the fixed viewpoint that nurses don’t go into business. I also had to challenge the fixed viewpoint that if the business idea hasn’t already been invented, there’s probably no market for it. But more importantly, I had to challenge my own fixed viewpoints.

These include the belief that nursing didn’t prepare me for owning a legal nurse consulting business and the belief that I didn’t have time to start a business as a legal nurse consultant with my full-time nursing job at the hospital.

Open your mind and energy to people who can introduce you to new ways of thinking about nursing or your CLNC^® business and the unlimited possibilities that are available when you stretch your agility. You’ll need to be willing to change directions, just like you do in your hospital job. And be ready to shake things up.

Risking even minor change strengthens your agility to go where you need to go next and prepares you for future challenges that will undoubtedly require even more change. When you stretch yourself to a new level, the next challenge isn’t nearly as scary; the ground is more familiar. Agility is your path to a deeper, richer experience in nursing and in your CLNC^® business, as well as the strength you’ll need to side-step any challenges you’ll meet along the way.

Success Is Inside!

Here at Vickie Milazzo Institute we are counting the days until the 2010 National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC^®) Conference in Nashville! I am so excited about the hotel (Gaylord Opryland Hotel) this year. Staying at the Gaylord is like being in your own city – 40-acres of fun galore, so you will not even have to leave the hotel. But in case you do, here are 20 legendary ways to experience Nashville.

1. Take a ride down the Honky Tonk Highway if you like country music and longnecks (and if you’ve never had a longneck, you should try one). Clubs like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge (Patsy Kline, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson all sang here), Legends Corner and Second Fiddle still host drop-in celebrity musicians and are great places to heat up a Spring evening.
2. Have a grand time at the Grand Ole Opry. There’s more to Opryland than just Hee-Haw. For more than 80 years, live radio shows have been broadcast every Friday and Saturday night from this grand home of country music. If you’re in town early for the Conference or choose to stay afterwards, this is a must-do. By the way – this isn’t the original home of the Opry – but more on that later!
3. Visit the “Home of 1,000 Hits.” Ever heard a song by Elvis, Roy Orbison or Dolly Parton? If so, there’s a good chance it was recorded at RCA Studio B on Music Row. Take some time to make a pilgrimage to a truly historic location.
4. Pay homage to the “Man in Black.” Stop by Johnny Cash’s grave and pay tribute to one of the greatest country music personalities and singers ever. Before you go, rent the movie Walk the Line and get a feel for the life and times of the legendary “Man in Black.” When you create your own CLNC^® legacy you’ll know what detours to avoid. His grave is really in Henderson but shoot, you’re this close already so why not go by?
5. Count the Elvis statues in downtown Nashville. I’m sure I didn’t see them all.
6. Do something truly off-beat and take a “Nash-Trash Tour” lead by the famous (or infamous) “Jugg Sisters.” You’ll take a large pink bus to where some of the most famous country singers have performed (including the Nashville jail), hear celebrity gossip, fun stories and generally laugh your way through the city.
7. Realize that you do know Jack – Daniels that is. Just 20 minutes outside Nashville is the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. It’s an extremely interesting, free tour and the grounds are just beautiful. But don’t expect any free samples because for some odd reason they built the distillery in a dry town (Lynchburg).
8. Stick around after Conference for St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate the 17th with a green beer after a trip to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in east Nashville. The church dates from the late 1800s and is one of two “second empire”-style buildings in Nashville. If you don’t like old architecture – skip the church and go straight for a Guiness^® at Findley’s Irish Pub in the Opryland Hotel or any of the Irish pubs in Nashville.
9. Speaking of church, make time to visit Ryman Auditorium, also known as “The Mother Church of Country Music.” Built in 1881, this is the original home of the Grand Old Opry (1943-1974) and is filled with more memories than your great-grandmom’s attic. Check out the bronze statue of Minnie Pearl and look for the price tag on her hat.
10. Make some new friends. Nashville residents love visitors and are some of the most welcoming people I’ve ever met. Just remember when you order ice tea that swait tea means sweet tea and I do mean sweet, honey.
11. Take a drive to visit the Belle Meade Plantation. Dating from 1853, this is a Greek revival (What is it with Nashville and Greece?) mansion that was part of a 5,400-acre thoroughbred farm. The so-called “Queen of Tennessee Plantations” is a wonderful visit and the tour includes the Dunham’s station log cabin, plantation mansion itself, slave quarters, dairy and horse stables. The outside of the house still shows evidence of bullet holes from the Civil War.
12. Go celebrity spotting at the Loveless Cafe. This is sort of a pilgrimage because there’s a fairly good chance you might even see Elvis chowing down on their world famous biscuits and southern fried chicken. Leave your cholesterol outside, this is food to die for (or from). Buy yourself one of their “Praise the Lard and pass the biscuits” T-shirts. I promise you’ll have fun – clot my heart and hope to die.
13. Take a trip back in time and I mean waaaaay back. The centerpiece of Centennial Park is a recreation of the Greek Parthenon. Originally built for the 1897 Centennial Exposition, its features direct castings from the real Parthenon. There’s no Greek food but there is a great art collection (it’s Nashville’s art museum) and a 42-ft. tall statue of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. If you’re traveling with a culture snob, drop them here and then go have some honky tonk fun.
14. Eat at a Waffle House. It’s a Southern thang. They serve more than waffles but that’s the sole reason to go there. Elbow your way to the counter and sit between the sheriff and the deputys (Isn’t that Boss Hogg?). Don’t worry about your cholesterol and make sure you add a big scoop of whupped butter before you cover your waffles in syrup. If you don’t come home sticky, you didn’t fully immerse yourself in the experience.
15. Send your husband off for the day to see the statue of Sgt. Alvin York outside of the Tennessee State Capitol building. The World War I hero, Congressional Medal of Honor winner and Quaker hailed from Tennessee and may be its most famous resident. He lead an attack knocking out 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 more. As a side note, Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Alvin York. See if your hubby can spot the statue’s anomaly.
16. Scream, yell and pound on the glass at a Nashville Predators ice hockey game. If you’ve never been to see ice hockey, it’s a whole lot of fun. My favorite seats are in the first row just to the right of either goal. The pucks come at you at over 100 mph and you can even count the teeth on the center when he gets slammed up against the glass! The original Broad Street Bullies, the Philadelphia Flyers are in Nashville on Tuesday the 16th and it’s sure to be a good game.
17. Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. Walk through the history of country music. See some of the really cool memorabilia and marvel at all the things you’re sure to have never seen before (especially Elvis’ gold Cadillac). You can even burn your own CDs from the music choices and just have a whole lotta fun.
18. Set yourself on fire and see just how hot it can get in March, with fried chicken that is. Venture down to Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack at 123 Ewing Drive and try the mild, medium, hot or extra hot versions of their fried chicken. This is not for the faint of heart but if you like it spicy, this is THE place to go.
19. Join the line-dance at the Wildhorse Saloon. If you ever watched “The Wildhorse Saloon Dance Show” on the Nashville Network here’s your chance to do the Watermelon Crawl and pretend you’re on TV. Kick up your CLNC^® boots with some good country music and free dance lessons starting at 5:00pm most nights.
20. Take a walk around the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. You could spend a full day wandering around and still not see everything. Best of all, it’s all indoors. You can even cool your feet off in one of the many waterfalls (just don’t let me see you). There’s so much to do here you’ll have to set a reminder so that you don’t miss any one of our exciting NACLNC^® sessions!

As you set the stage for your Nashville excursions, remember to come prepared to keep up with the tempo for the 2010 NACLNC^® Conference.

• Come relaxed and ready to discover new ideas. The NACLNC^® Conference is much more fun when you’re rested, and you’ll learn so much more if you leave your stress behind.

• Pack energy bars, raw nuts and other healthy snacks to maintain your energy. That Jack Daniels buzz will wear off quickly.

• Bring plenty of business cards to exchange with the many new CLNC^® friends you’ll meet.

• Go online and print the NACLNC^® Conference textbook sessions you plan on attending after you receive the link in my March 10 email.

Have a great trip and be sure to read my blog on March 11, 2010 when I share how to Master Your Strategies for the 2010 NACLNC^® Conference.

Success Is Inside!

Every year we adopt a new business theme at Vickie Milazzo Institute. Some previous examples are “Let It Go” and “Move Like a Maverick.” All year long we have a lot of fun with the theme, but more important, we use the theme to challenge how we think and how we do business. The staff especially enjoys reminding me of the theme to persuade me of their position on issues. I think “Let it Go” was my staff’s all-time favorite and quickly became the catch-phrase any time something was a little bit off or I found a mistake or error. I was definitely ready to let that theme go!

This year’s theme is “Ditch Unnecessary Complexities.” Complexity in and of itself is not negative. In fact, because what we do at the Institute is complex, copycats cannot replicate the quality of what we offer to Certified Legal Nurse Consultants and CLNC^® students.

As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant when you write a report and analysis for a medical-malpractice case, you expect your report to have a level of complexity that cannot be replicated by a nurse who has not been trained as a CLNC^® consultant.

But in both your business and mine, this is a good year to eliminate unnecessary complexities that creep into our CLNC^® businesses and are accepted without question or thought.

At a recent Vickie Milazzo Institute staff brainstorm, I asked the staff to help identify unnecessary complexities with the focus on being more efficient, cutting costs and eliminating a process or procedure that is no longer needed. Together they identified 48 of them for 2010. Of course we triaged the most important ones to tackle first, but many required very little effort.

You can do this for your CLNC^® business by raising your consciousness and asking yourself the following questions:

1. “Am I doing something that I no longer need to be doing?”
2. “Why exactly are we doing it this way? Is it simply because that’s the way we’ve always done it?”
3. “Am I doing something that gives me little or no payoff?”
4. “Can I simplify this process?”
5. “Does technology exist to automate or simplify this process?”
6. “Is there not just an easier way, but a better and faster way to accomplish this goal?”

In 2010, let’s commit to focus on the core purpose of our CLNC^® businesses – i.e. servicing our clients and producing the best quality product by freeing ourselves from unnecessary complexities. The time we save can be used to improve other processes or, just to improve our lives outside of our legal nurse consulting businesses. Once you’ve completed this process for your CLNC^® business, consider trying it in your home – just don’t let your family in on “let it go!”

Success Is Inside!

Read Part 1.

In Part 1 we discussed 6 Best Practices for subcontracting with Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to grow your CLNC^® business. Here are 9 more Best Practices.

1. Sign a formal contract with each subcontractor, and include a fair noncompetition clause. Use the recommended CLNC^® subcontractor contract from Vickie Milazzo Institute.

2. Have each CLNC^® subcontractor fill out a W-9 form at the time they sign their contract. Don’t pay their invoice until you receive a completed form. You can download a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification form and instructions from IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.

3. Market to your attorney-clients that you have a network of CLNC^® subcontractors in a variety of specialties to encourage them to send you more cases.

4. Communicate your expectations, deadlines and budget for the assignment clearly. Every attorney-client is different and there’s more than one right way to design the report. Clear communication helps to ensure that the CLNC^® subcontractor provides work product that meets your attorney-client’s needs.

Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, CLNC says,

“A mistake I made in the beginning was not giving the subcontractors a deadline. I found that by leaving the deadline to them, it was often last minute, and I got nervous about getting the report to the attorney in a timely manner. Now, I always give a reasonable deadline, allowing a bit more time than the CLNC^® subcontractor may need so that it can be done expediently.

I have also learned the importance of giving the subcontractor parameters and limits for hours allowed per case. It is the same as checking with an attorney before doing too much or too little. If you do not provide a budget, you could end up paying more than is necessary for details that are not needed quite yet.”

Nikki J. Chuml, RNC, FMC, PRN, CLNC says,

“I make sure my CLNC^® subcontractor knows the deadline and I have them check in along the way. I like to see the first page of their report. I just want to make sure they are on the right track. Once I approve the first page, they continue with the case.

About halfway through the case, I have them check in again to make sure it remains what I want. If all is okay, then they complete the work. If something is not meeting my expectations, I discuss it with them before they finish the entire report. I want to save them time also. I am confident that as long as we continue to communicate with each other, the report will be what I want for my attorney-client.

When the finished product is sent to me, I review it, make any necessary changes and send them the completed one so that they can see what I like and expect for the next time. I don’t believe in wasting their time or mine, so I like to be with them throughout the process.

One thing I always make sure of is that my CLNC^® subcontractors get paid on time. I like to keep them happy so they will work again.”

Don’t cut your deadlines too close. Get your work from the CLNC^® subcontractor as far in advance of the due date as possible to allow you to assess their work product.

5. Put each new subcontractor to the test. Start with small tasks and advance to more complex projects.

6. Be sure to review the work prepared for your clients by your subcontractors (especially beginners) before submitting it. Always allow time to carefully check and edit your subcontractors’ work. Share your changes so the subcontractor can learn to model your best practices.

7. Pay your CLNC^® subcontractors 50% of your billing rate. The attorney will be invoiced at your hourly rate. It is not necessary to indicate to the attorney the number of hours you worked vs. the hours your CLNC^® subcontractor worked. Pay within 30 days of invoice date to encourage loyalty and enthusiasm for future projects.

8. Treat each CLNC^® subcontractor as an individual. Focus on and use their strengths to supplement your own strengths. One CLNC^® consultant may write great personal injury chronologies, but is not as strong at analyzing medical malpractice cases. Likewise, the CLNC^® subcontractor who is masterful at analyzing malpractice cases may be easily bored by writing personal injury summaries.

9. Acknowledge and thank your CLNC^® subcontractors. Don’t take your CLNC^® subcontractors for granted.
   
   As Larry Frace, RN, CLNC says,

“Keep in constant touch with all of your CLNC^® subcontractors by teleconferencing, emailing and at the next NACLNC^® Conference.”

Follow these Best Practices and you will master the art of sensational subcontracting to achieve sensational results for your CLNC^® business.

Success Is Inside!