Once a year I drag Tom to a health spa in the desert for a week (he calls it the “bunny ranch” because of the predominance of salads, veggies and other healthy “rabbit” food on the menu). The spa I like has a great medical department along with its other amenities (massage, yoga, hiking, etc.). I go to get a medical check-up, nutritional evaluations and a fitness assessment with the goal of reigniting my commitment to wellness.
We try to eat pretty cleanly. Lots of healthy soups and two different versions of a killer roasted chicken (one with butter and garlic and one without) are examples of what we eat at home. I have to eat clean for half of the year because the other half of the year, I’m on the road for business or for pleasure. Out in the wild, just like in the hospital, it’s hard to keep to a healthy diet – especially with so many tasty items on the menu (most of them either fried or served with sour cream). I’ve learned to develop will power but it’s still hard passing up the bad for the good.
Nutritional integrity is like our own integrity. I always tell Certified Legal Nurse Consultants that integrity means always doing the right thing even when nobody is looking. Sure, when Tom isn’t around I could sneak a piece of southern fried chicken, a bowl of Haagen-Daas dulce de leche or some other tasty, but unhealthy treat. (I could probably do it with him because I know he’d gladly share it with me!) But the point is, making a decision to eat healthy means deciding to do so more often than not.
But let’s go back to the bunny ranch for a minute. The spa proclaims to be dedicated to healthy eating. They ban alcohol (even healthy red wine) from the premises, give the protein, carb, calorie and fat content of every item at every meal, but to me, they “cop out” in three areas. First, while they have cold herbal teas available (it’s necessary to stay hydrated in the desert), they also have lots of artificial sweeteners at every drink station. Second, they serve a lot of breads, French toast and pancakes at breakfast, sandwich choices at lunch and rolls at dinner. Third, there are ice cream, chocolate chip cookies and other desserts (all lovingly described down to the last gram of fat) at every meal.
I expect this blog to get a lot of dissenting comments, but to me the bunny ranch is copping out. My personal belief (and research backs me up) is that sugar is bad for us and Americans eat too much of it. Instead of helping to move bunny ranch survivors off of sweet drinks, they’re just shifting them to an alternative form of sweetness. In other words, enabling them (Sure it’s okay to eat Splenda® – it’s sort of natural.).
I like a good dessert as much as the next person. I also know that there are other choices for dessert than ice cream (even if low calorie) or cookies or low-fat cheese cake. One of the women at the pool told me, “I love the deserts here – they’re so small compared to home and you can try two or three different ones!” When she goes home, her sweets habit has been reinforced – not altered. Why not shift her paradigm to consider fresh fruit as a dessert alternative to something sugary? I’m not anti-dessert but I’d rather spend my calories on something tastier than sugar and train other people to make healthy choices.
Before I come off like a total food-Nazi, this recent experience got me thinking about how easy it is for legal nurse consultants to cop out on your attorney-clients. Do you ever find yourself tempering your opinions of the medical or nursing care because you don’t want to give your attorney-client an opinion he doesn’t want to hear? Are you trying to “go along to get along?” Have you ever agreed with an attorney’s position just because you were afraid to take a stand? Have you said, “I’ll have to research that and get back with you” when you already know they’re wrong?
If you have, you’re not offering the full critical value that the attorney-client is paying you for. As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, you bring a wealth of experience and ability to a case and you have to be willing to take a stand and offer your own thoughts – not a reflection of someone else’s thoughts. One of my employees is called “the other voice.” She’s not afraid to take a stand, even when she’s wrong. As big of a pain in the butt as she can be, I know she’s thought through the issues pretty thoroughly and is offering her true opinion. I’d rather have her than any number of “yes-men” or “yes-women” around me.
You may need to be a bit diplomatic but in the long run, you’ll be appreciated for giving your full critical value. The truth may not always set you free and it may not always be appreciated, but you have to be willing to do what’s right – even if someone is looking.
See you at the bunny ranch and until then, stay off the sugar!
Success Is Inside!
P.S. I look forward to reading your comments about how you avoid copping out.
P.P.S. The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) Conference March 15-16, 2010 is filling up fast. I can’t wait to see you. Click to register now.
6 thoughts on “Are You Copping Out as a Legal Nurse Consultant?”
I’m the sort of person who looks at the dessert menu first to see how much of the “good” food I can have and still have room …
Granted, fruits are better for you but they, too, have sugar. How many diabetic patients have told me how they have steered clear of sugar and only drink fruit juices so how could their glucose level be so high?!
With attorneys, though, I like to be able to ask questions to find out that “other side of the issue” that I may not see which could factor in on my opinion. And I realize it’s my opinion but that is what they are paying for – MY opinion. My reputation is integral to my business and I want to stand out for my honesty in my opinions.
This business is the “dessert” of my nursing career!
Agree! I am 54 and I’ve received a recent diagnosis for severe low back arthritis and Degenerative Disc Disease with stenosis. I don’t accept that (call it denial if you want). Starting there I have a mileu of potential arthritis symptoms throughout my body.
If there are two major factors to be examined in the past 50 years, that can lead to arthritis they would be: Sugar has become a major part of our daily diets and consumption of soda pop has become widespread. (Soda has 11-13 tsps of sugar per can). We could list dozens of health problems that derive from sugar such as immune suppression, interference with absorption of minerals including Calcium, loss of tissue elasticity (aging) and it feeds cancer cells connected with breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary duct, lung, gallbladder and stomach. By eliminating most of sugar from my diet, my symptoms have all but disappeared. As a CLNC® consultant I don’t have time to hurt when I have a choice. Certified Legal Nurse Consulting is my dessert as well!
Love the take a stand for what is right message with attorneys ( and everyone else!). It does not make life easier in the short run, but it does let people know they can count on you. Was it Will Rogers who said “Tell the truth, then you won’t have to try to remember what you said?” Ya gotta love that!
I value the fact that I give my honest, evidenced based, objective opinion to my attorney-clients. Yes, I have had a couple of attorneys that did not appreciate that I did not agree with their views on the case. I stood my ground and in a professional manner informed them that they hired me for my objective opinion and that I would not be a good testifying expert for their case. Most of the attorneys I work with appreciate the fact that I remain objective and let them know where the strengths and weaknesses are in the case. These are the attorneys who keep coming back to me when new cases come to them. If you want to be a credible expert, you have to value your opinion and confidently stand by it. We are CLNC® consultants and we can do anything.
Our health care system is a sick care system. It lets patients down because it says “in moderation” amoung other myths. Poison is poison even if it is a small amount or prescribed. The body does not know the difference. I was shocked at the state of some nurses health. Nurses smoking, being diabetic and eating the bread, pasta and desserts. We need to lead by example. A recommended book to read for more information is, The China Study by Campbell. For your information sodas also have Benzene in them (sodium benozate and citric acid). The can also has a chemical coating on the inside. When fructose first came on the market we each ate less than a pound. Because it is in almost everything we eat over 68 pounds a year! Artificial sweetners are toxic. If you need something use stevia or xylitol.
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I’m the sort of person who looks at the dessert menu first to see how much of the “good” food I can have and still have room …
Granted, fruits are better for you but they, too, have sugar. How many diabetic patients have told me how they have steered clear of sugar and only drink fruit juices so how could their glucose level be so high?!
With attorneys, though, I like to be able to ask questions to find out that “other side of the issue” that I may not see which could factor in on my opinion. And I realize it’s my opinion but that is what they are paying for – MY opinion. My reputation is integral to my business and I want to stand out for my honesty in my opinions.
This business is the “dessert” of my nursing career!
Fruit juice is like a mainline injection of glucose! You don’t get any fiber and usually there’s no real fruit in the juice.
Agree! I am 54 and I’ve received a recent diagnosis for severe low back arthritis and Degenerative Disc Disease with stenosis. I don’t accept that (call it denial if you want). Starting there I have a mileu of potential arthritis symptoms throughout my body.
If there are two major factors to be examined in the past 50 years, that can lead to arthritis they would be: Sugar has become a major part of our daily diets and consumption of soda pop has become widespread. (Soda has 11-13 tsps of sugar per can). We could list dozens of health problems that derive from sugar such as immune suppression, interference with absorption of minerals including Calcium, loss of tissue elasticity (aging) and it feeds cancer cells connected with breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary duct, lung, gallbladder and stomach. By eliminating most of sugar from my diet, my symptoms have all but disappeared. As a CLNC® consultant I don’t have time to hurt when I have a choice. Certified Legal Nurse Consulting is my dessert as well!
Love the take a stand for what is right message with attorneys ( and everyone else!). It does not make life easier in the short run, but it does let people know they can count on you. Was it Will Rogers who said “Tell the truth, then you won’t have to try to remember what you said?” Ya gotta love that!
I value the fact that I give my honest, evidenced based, objective opinion to my attorney-clients. Yes, I have had a couple of attorneys that did not appreciate that I did not agree with their views on the case. I stood my ground and in a professional manner informed them that they hired me for my objective opinion and that I would not be a good testifying expert for their case. Most of the attorneys I work with appreciate the fact that I remain objective and let them know where the strengths and weaknesses are in the case. These are the attorneys who keep coming back to me when new cases come to them. If you want to be a credible expert, you have to value your opinion and confidently stand by it. We are CLNC® consultants and we can do anything.
Our health care system is a sick care system. It lets patients down because it says “in moderation” amoung other myths. Poison is poison even if it is a small amount or prescribed. The body does not know the difference. I was shocked at the state of some nurses health. Nurses smoking, being diabetic and eating the bread, pasta and desserts. We need to lead by example. A recommended book to read for more information is, The China Study by Campbell. For your information sodas also have Benzene in them (sodium benozate and citric acid). The can also has a chemical coating on the inside. When fructose first came on the market we each ate less than a pound. Because it is in almost everything we eat over 68 pounds a year! Artificial sweetners are toxic. If you need something use stevia or xylitol.