The Dreaded Evaluation – A Thing of the Past for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants
It’s evaluation time again at LegalNurse.com. When I was the one being evaluated as an RN in the hospital I dreaded the process and today, when I’m the “evaluator” and not the “evaluatee” I like evals even less.
At the Institute we start with a self-evaluation – which is intended to be an honest evaluation of each employee’s own performance for the last year. When I read my employees’ evaluations I am always more interested in what an employee thinks of herself, than what I think. Her personal insights are more valuable in predicting how far she will advance at the Institute. Surprisingly, some employees are harder on themselves than they need to be while some always rate themselves awesome – even when they’re not. But most do get it right.
The self-evaluation then goes to the employee’s departmental director whose job is to return the evaluation to near reality. From the directors, the evaluations come to me. As one employee says, “Vickie gives feedback hourly, and if you pay attention, what’s the point of an annual eval? LOL!”
When I started my legal nurse consulting business I was ecstatic to no longer be the victim of that “once-a-year, way-out-of-left-field nursing evaluation” that seemed to depend more on the mood of the nursing supervisor who was writing it, than on my actual day-to-day performance (and survival of my patients).
Working as a legal nurse consultant, the feedback from my attorney-clients was frequent, immediate and sometimes terrifyingly candid (I guess that’s who I learned it from. LOL!). I’m sure you’ve found as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant that success or failure on a particular case is your immediate, and sometimes, final evaluation from your attorney-client. If they hire you again there’s a strong probability that you got a good evaluation and are providing a strong service and an excellent work product. If they don’t come back for more – need I say more?
The next time an attorney does not send you another medical-related case, evaluate yourself and ask why. Better yet, evaluate your own performance hourly and you might never have to ask that dreaded “why” question. Don’t expect the attorney to push, prod, coach or mentor you like some of your past supervisors or administrators may have done. Attorneys aren’t in the coddling business – if they were they’d be rescuing puppies. They’re in the business of litigating complex cases and to do so successfully, they have to ask hard questions and expect a lot of the experts and consultants who play on their team.
Every day in your CLNC® business you have the opportunity to succeed or fail. While yesterday’s performance is a strong predication of future success, it’s not a guarantee unless you evaluate yourself and your performance each and every day.
Just like I expect my staff to have insight into their performance, insight into your own performance is a prerequisite for CLNC success and self-insight is a quality attorneys will reward. The truly successful Certified Legal Nurse Consultants rate themselves honestly, and sometimes brutally, on the hour. The others… well, you already know where their lack of insight will lead.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S.Comment here and share how you keep your own self-evaluations real.
Vickie: The self-evaluations and employer-evaluations to me are like the learning curve. A person has to be willing to take criticism as an opportunity to learn what they did not know and not take it as a personal hit. We all know that evaluations can help an organization grow and improve client satisfaction. Vickie, you and your team are a good example of an organization that has grown and has many satisfied clients.
I was certified last April and I’m still learning so much. I do submit my work product to the CLNC® Mentors and I have learned a lot. When I see their copy with LOTS of corrections/deletions, etc.,… I take lots of deep breaths and dive into their suggestions. I finally got a ‘good job’ on a report last week from a mentor with only one suggested change. They are helping me keep it ‘real’ and help me to be very humble and I am learning every day : o )
LegalNurse.com is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) is the largest and oldest association of legal nurse consultants.
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*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.
A good reminder to all of us. Thank you.
Vickie: The self-evaluations and employer-evaluations to me are like the learning curve. A person has to be willing to take criticism as an opportunity to learn what they did not know and not take it as a personal hit. We all know that evaluations can help an organization grow and improve client satisfaction. Vickie, you and your team are a good example of an organization that has grown and has many satisfied clients.
I was certified last April and I’m still learning so much. I do submit my work product to the CLNC® Mentors and I have learned a lot. When I see their copy with LOTS of corrections/deletions, etc.,… I take lots of deep breaths and dive into their suggestions. I finally got a ‘good job’ on a report last week from a mentor with only one suggested change. They are helping me keep it ‘real’ and help me to be very humble and I am learning every day : o )