fbpx
Legal Nurse Consultant Success Story

CLNC® Success Story: I Overcame My Fears as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant When I Remembered: I Am a Nurse and I Can Do Anything!

My experience in hospital nursing was filled with mixed emotions. The frustration level was one that I have never experienced anywhere else. But I kept being a nurse, and I kept going to work. Nursing jobs paid the bills but did not contribute to my soul.

When I saw LegalNurse.com’s ad for the CLNC® Certification Program, I wondered if this was a nursing career that I could be passionate about. I saw the ad several more times after that. Each time I felt a tremendous pull. The woman in the ad looked like no nurse in my facility. Vickie personified a victorious nurse dedicated to her profession, unlike other ads where the model-like woman leaps through the air with her hair blowing in the wind.

Little did I know I was implementing a business plan by showing the ad to my husband and proclaiming, “What an investment this would be for our future. We need to choose the VIP CLNC Certification System and take advantage of all the available resources.”

My fear of flying could not hold me back. Several months later, I looked out of the airplane window after take-off. Dark thunderheads hung over the mountain tops. Lightning flashed sending streaks of light all around the plane. Down below, hundreds of colorful hot air balloons lit up Balloon Fiesta Park waiting for their early morning launch. My overwhelmed senses were full of expectations yet to come and I was calmed by the knowledge that I was so lucky to be the lead character in this new adventure.

That was the calm before the storm. WOW, is how I describe the CLNC Certification Program. I was amazed by the course content. Then the NACLNC® Apprenticeship followed. I was brain-dead by the time it was over. I assumed the hardest and most challenging part was behind me. I began implementing everything I had learned right away.

I went on my first marketing campaign. I had seven promotional packets. Each one contained a personalized introduction letter to the attorney, a brochure, a business card and a professional profile. I marketed to all seven offices, but it took every ounce of courage I had. My husband went with me to the first office. I’m sure “amateur” was written all over me. I decided taking my husband wasn’t a good idea. The next office I went to was torturous. I stood there knowing I had to go in, but wishing I didn’t have to. My palms were wet and my mouth was dry. My husband reassured me from the sidewalk and I took a deep breath and went in. I met four attorneys that day. Each time I felt out of my element and left the office thinking, “There has to be another way.” I felt as wanted as a telemarketer.

I did the “busy thing” for a while after that. We built an office and I set that up. I reviewed the advanced resources in my VIP CLNC Certification System. Then I went to the NACLNC Conference in March. I talked with Certified Legal Nurse Consultants about their strategies for overcoming fears. Nothing clicked for me. I did discover other strategies to beef up my promotional packet and implemented them as soon as I got home. I went on several more marketing campaigns, but I could not overcome the fear of meeting attorneys. I went to their offices hoping I wouldn’t see any. I could relate to the office staff and break ice with them, but not the attorney. How was I going to get business with this mindset? The fear of meeting attorneys was bordering on a phobia.

The turning point came when a legal assistant called my office after receiving my promotional package and left a message for me to call. As usual, I contacted LegalNurse.com for mentoring. I listened carefully to the CLNC Mentor and followed up with the appropriate phone calls and sent a follow-up letter. Three weeks later, the legal assistant called to set up my first appointment with the attorney. I was thrilled, but it was short-lived as fear began to well up inside of me, again. I contacted LegalNurse.com for mentoring yet again. I was probably over-prepared for this meeting, but it was important to get it right. I would have to do this in spite of the fear.

I had no idea what to expect, but I was well prepared in every way right down to the power suit. I arrived at the office early to find out the attorney would be late. “That’s okay,” I thought, “I can wait.” There were a couple of gentlemen also waiting. We made small talk until the attorney arrived. After she arrived, she took one of the gentlemen in her office for about twenty minutes. He left and then the legal assistant ushered me and the other gentleman into a small conference room.

“What is this?” I thought. I was led to believe it would be the attorney and I, only. Everyone was introduced. It was very formal.

The attorney said, “This is Mrs. Schmitt. She is an expert and she is going to tell us how to proceed. Go ahead, Mr. Jones (not his real name), tell her your story.”

I felt my eyes bug out. My inner voice said, “Wait! I didn’t practice this! No time for a CLNC Mentor request.”

The man started talking, but I could not understand him. His lips were moving and I could hear his voice, but I was so paralyzed with fear that I wondered what I looked like to him or, horror of horrors, what did I look like to the attorney?! I thought, “I better snap out of it because the attorney is going to expect something intelligent from me!”

Thank God this drama was only going on inside my head and not in the room. In a split second, I realized that sitting in front of me was a patient, Mr. Jones. My nursing instincts kicked in. I forgot about the power suit I was wearing and immediately began to assess his physical condition and his words became crystal clear. “The other guy dropped the air conditioner causing me to fall and hurt my back and knee,” he continued.

The 33 services that Certified Legal Nurse Consultants offer with a risk-free guarantee faded away as I asked, “How many days after the surgery did you notice the redness and swelling?”

My sample work products became forgotten when I told the attorney, “The infection that your client acquired after surgery was not the result of mismanaged care because they did a culture and treated it in a timely manner.”

The attorney asked numerous questions: “How can you tell if it was the hospital’s fault? What can you tell from the medical records?” The attorney mysteriously became a patient as well. She wanted to know what I knew. I answered all her questions demonstrating how I, the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, could help with her medical-related cases. I stated that in my opinion there was no medical malpractice in this case and that she should only pursue the personal injury claim. I explained vocational and functional capacity evaluations that could strengthen her case. As the conversation went on she was amazed at the information I provided. She was a criminal defense attorney and had people ask her about taking medical malpractice cases. She said she had five potential medical malpractice cases and set up an appointment with me for the next case.

That experience changed me. I had heard other success stories that sounded too good to be true; a CLNC consultant goes into an attorney’s office and walks out with armloads of cases. But this attorney was truly sincere.

I now remember that I’m a nurse when I market to attorneys, which is what I should have been doing all along. I am not a salesperson, I am proud to be a nurse. Now, when I go into attorneys’ offices, I hope I meet them and ask if they are in so I can meet them. I look forward to educating them about how I can cost effectively consult on their medical-related cases. The expertise of registered nurses is as important to attorneys as it is to patients. Thanks to LegalNurse.com and the CLNC Mentors, this expertise is available to every attorney through all of us Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. It is our job to educate attorneys in every creative way we can.

Guest Blogger Profile

Diana Schmitt, RN, BSN, CLNC has 24 years experience in the health care industry and is the owner of Diana Schmitt & Associates Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. Her firm specializes in merit review, expert witness location, and medical literature research for medical malpractice cases.

P.S. Read more CLNC Success Stories and send your CLNC Success Story to [email protected].

P.P.S. Comment if you would like to congratulate Diana on her CLNC success.

9 thoughts on “CLNC® Success Story: I Overcame My Fears as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant When I Remembered: I Am a Nurse and I Can Do Anything!

  1. Congratulations to you on your success! I have been “kicking around” the program now for a couple of years. I even signed the papers to start once but was hospitalized and had to put it off. The fear of failing is crippling and I don’t know that I can get over that. I envy your strength and look for my own every day. I read these emails, blogs, success stories and wish I had the nerve to just do it. I have spent the last 5 years of my nursing career digging through and making sense of patient medical records. I love it more than anything else I have done as an RN. The thought of now mixing it up a little with the legal system is very exciting! Maybe one day I will overcome my fears and push forward!
    Congrats again and Best Wishes to you and your business as a CLNC® consultant!

  2. Dear Teresa,

    What I tell people in your situation is getting started is the most important step because dreams can make a person miserable if you wait too long to act on them. What you need to focus on is what will happen if you never do this.

    You mentioned that you were hospitalized. So many RNs who have injuries have turned their life around by using their nursing experience to consult with attorneys. It seems as if this program might be very timely for you.

    I want you to succeed and have put all the safety nets in place for you to do so: Free Mentoring, help with marketing your business and even a 6-month risk free guarantee in case you change your mind.

    My recommendation is to move forward with you initial decision to become a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and call the Institute today. Ask for Evie.

    Thank you for your honesty and giving me the opportunity to address your fears. I am sure several nurses reading this blog feel the same way.

  3. Thanks!!! It is neat that my story came out this week. When I left Albuquerque NM on a plane in 2005 for the CLNC® Certification Program in Atlanta, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was happening and I describe a little bit of it in my story. This week is the balloon fiesta and I have been watching it on TV. It is tremendous when you see it in person. When I think of balloons, I think of celebrations and I am thrilled that my first nursing article is published by Vickie Milazzo and the wonderful staff. Thanks for letting me share my story for other CLNC® consultants. Jumping for joy.

  4. Diana: How exciting! I enjoyed subcontracting with you on your pediatrics case. I knew right from the start that your hard work and professionalism would pay off! Thank you for sharing your story! You’re the Best!

  5. Oh Diana!! I am so happy for you!! I have been reading all of Vickie’s books and listening to the tapes.

    Thank you so much for sharing and may your business take flight!!!

  6. Your “treat them like a patient” strategy for managing your anxiety about meeting attorneys sounds like a really good idea for me too as my rapport with my patients was always a strength of mine – thanks and Bon Voyage!

  7. Ms. Schmitt,

    Thank you for sharing your story. I am sure that it will inspire others as it has me.

    Thanks again for sharing your story and giving others encouragement to stay after it and move forward.

  8. Dear Diana, Your story is very well written, so colorful and descriptive. I can identify with the “busy thing.” I believe it is a way of procrastination because we are afraid, but we just have to “jump right in” and do it, get our business started. The way I like to think of attorneys is that they are human just like we are with the same bodily functions and they get dressed in the mornings just like we do. Also want to mention I enjoyed our stroll and dinner on the River Walk in San Antonio last March at the NACLNC® Conference.

  9. Diana – congratulations on your success! I am fortunate that I cover 3 adult/pediatric hospitals for claims and work with attorneys and their staff every day. But when it comes to marketing myself outside of my 9-to-5 job, I find ways to also be “busy” or procrastinate the phone calls. I know how ridiculous it is since I currently consult on over 60 cases related to the hospitals but still have that fear. Keep up the good work!

    To Teresa – make that call! I looked into many programs before signing up for Vickies. Vickie’s training is the most comprehensive one out there. There are much cheaper programs but you definitely get what you pay for. Good luck!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.

Copyright © 1999-2024 LegalNurse.com.
All rights reserved.
CLNC® and NACLNC® are registered trademarks of
LegalNurse.com.