3 Mistakes Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Should Avoid in a Resume

The Institute frequently mentors 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’ 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’ 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 cardiology cases.”

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

Success Is Yours,

P.S. Comment and share your USP with your CLNC consultant peers.