CLNC® Success Story: A Day in the Life of Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Carol Fridal
I’m an emergency nurse with 40 years’ experience and have been a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant for 11 years. I like my role as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant as much as I like my work as an emergency nurse.
I enjoy every day. I work 50% as an emergency nurse and 50% as a CLNC consultant because I have a deep-seated love for nursing. As a result, every day is different, which I really enjoy.
I had an attorney ask in a deposition recently, “Why are you a legal nurse consultant?” Emergency nursing is who and what I have become over the years. Legal nurse consulting affords me the opportunity to educate my attorney-clients so they accurately interpret and understand the patient’s journey. As an RN, I am the voice for the patient. It is up to the nurses to document the patient’s journey. I’ve heard nurses say, “I’m here to care for the patient and will chart when I have time.” That may have been the story at one time, but today’s healthcare system is so complex that the medical record is necessary to document the patient’s journey as to what and how events occurred.
While every day is different, every day is also the same because it’s about being the best I can be for patients. Either by caring for patients on their worst day in the emergency department (ED) or being their voice when they did not receive the emergency care they should have.
I focus on emergency medical malpractice cases, which range from an unplanned birth at home after an emergency room visit to a death in the ED. My primary role is to assess whether the nurses adhered to the emergency standards and whether deviations from the standards caused the alleged damage and injuries.
My typical day is about nursing, either at work in the emergency department or at my desk working as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. I love nursing and working with and for patients. Working with the attorneys is an additional positive and educational experience.
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Carol Fridal, MS, RN, CEN, CLNC owner of C Fridal Legal Nurse Consulting has more than 30 years’ nursing experience in emergency and trauma. Carol consults on medical-malpractice and personal injury cases for plaintiff and defense attorneys.
P.S.Comment here to congratulate Carol on her CLNC Success.
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.
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