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Add the Right Tools to Be a Flying Legal Nurse Consultant

Unlike most legal nurse consultants, I’m on the road about 20 weeks a year and that means that I’m on a minimum of 40 flights a year – and it’s usually a lot more counting short hops, vacations, family visits and our CLNC® Certification Seminars across the country. Yes, I do have Gold frequent flyer status on Continental, but all that guarantees me is early boarding and sitting near the front of the plane behind the Platinum and Million-Mile members. I’m close enough to see them up in first class sipping champagne, eating lobster thermidor and generally cavorting about in a carefree manner, at least until the flight attendant pulls the velvet curtain that separates “us” from “them.” I don’t get upgraded to first class as often as I’d like to.

Lately Continental has been stingier with their upgrades and as I write this, I’m sitting in 9C. On this 757-300 (it’s scary that I can tell the aircraft type by the restroom configuration), this means an aisle seat in coach for me. Tom’s in 9A, a window seat, hunkered-down in his favorite don’t-bother-me-please position. Thanks to fewer, more crowded flights, Continental has sentenced us to 3½ hours of false imprisonment (look it up – the only exit is by parachute). Tom’s laptop barely fits on his lap so he’s claiming it’s impossible to type (I think he just wants to read my copy of Outlander). To drown him and everything else out I’ve put on my Bose headset and cranked up “Novacaine” by Green Day on my iPod (thank you Steve Jobs) and, in the words of the song, “For now I won’t feel a thing.”

Of course this will end. Soon they’ll close the cabin door and if I’m lucky, the person who ends up in the middle seat won’t hack up a lung or kidney or won’t be a professional wrestler, like on our last flight (Tom swapped him for the window seat to sit next to me but then Tom was scared to ask the guy to take his huge bald head off his shoulder when he fell asleep). For now I had to listen to the woman in the row in front of me with the cell-phone voice tell her friend about her frightening medical condition (and they worry about nurses and HIPAA) or I can rock out with my iPod and people-watch during the boarding process.

It’s sort of fascinating in the way that it’s fascinating to watch a train wreck. People getting on have all different looks. There are the business people in suits who furtively glance toward first class to see if it’s really full. They next get that look of despair (that I share) after realizing they’re really in the back and that their Double-Platinum Premium card won’t be any help at all. Then come couples of all ages, usually going on vacation. They look happy, in love and it brightens my heart to see them. Like Tom and me, they get to share the experience and tell each other “that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” I see the singles who avoid the checked-bag fee by rolling bags the size of a small car onto the aircraft, bouncing them down the aisle and then wrenching their back and shoulders trying to unsuccessfully stuff them into the already full overhead compartment.

Soon families start boarding – they often end up sitting near the back for some reason. You can hear the small children asking, “Is this our seat? Is this our seat? Is this our seat?” until they get all the way back to 96F (by the restroom). Personally, I like to see the children who, unlike the parents, are thrilled and looking forward to the experience of flying (they’ll learn). They still have joy associated with new adventures and will get to experience their parents undivided attention (at least until the in-flight movie begins).

As I watched the parade, Tom was so wrapped up in typing a fresh, new Tech Tip that no less than two surly flight attendants came by to tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he was threatening the safety of not only all the other passengers, but possibly the destiny of the free world. This was because he still had his headset, Blackberry® and laptop on and, if he didn’t want to say hello to the business end of the air marshal’s Sig-Sauer pistol, it was time to shut things down. As luck would have it, at that exact moment, my own cell phone rang with a call from the one person I really needed to talk to so I answered it. This put me, but not Tom, on the watch list for the next three hours. As a consequence, not only did I not get my four ounces of TSA-approved fluids but I did get special “inattention.” In other words, the flight crew overtly watched me, but assiduously avoided making eye contact in case I needed something.

I can deal with that. I’m a nurse, I’m self-sufficient. I travel with teapot, table and tent. I’ve got water, snacks, my own sanitized pillow and freshly-washed blanket. (Okay, just kidding on the last two, but it’s actually not a bad idea!) But what I really want is – quiet. Once we’re in the air, I have about three hours to work on whatever I want – blogs, my NACLNC® Conference speech (overdue) or creating a new product for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. At least until the person in front of me reclines their seat back onto my lap forcing me to do Sudoku (Just joking, what is Sudoku anyway?) until we land in foggy San Francisco.

That’s the point behind this blog. If you have to work on a plane, be sure you have the right equipment. Bose noise-reducing headphones and fresh batteries are a must. Check. My fully-charged iPod loaded with all my favorite music, a trash book and plenty of magazines. Check. Laptop computer and spare battery. Check – sort of.

Tom the techie loves his super powerful laptop with its 17” screen (he could probably fly the plane with it). But I love my small netbook with its 10” screen. When it comes to laptops, size doesn’t matter (laptops I said). I took Tom’s advice and purchased a netbook for functionality, not form. It’s not as powerful as Tom’s, but to his chagrin, I can work on it just about everywhere and it will even fit in one of my larger purses. It’s got a built-in Verizon wireless card so I can connect to the office from anywhere. I’m sure he’s jealous (especially right now) but would never admit it to me.

In my Houston office, I’ve got a regular desktop computer but at home, my laptop fits into a docking station and sits there ready to go wherever I want to go. Tom recommends laptops for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants on the go and I agree. Just be sure that you buy one that fits what you do. If your legal nurse consulting business is fairly stationary, a cost-effective desktop might be right for you.

If you think you’ll want the convenience of working from different locations, you’ll want a laptop. Just buy one that fits your business needs and your personal needs. Buy smart and you’ll only have to buy once. Be sure to check out Tom’s technical recommendations in the NACLNC® Community first.

When we were shopping for my laptop, Tom showed me lots of them. What seemed to separate them the most were the different screen sizes. We knew I’d plug it into a dock with external monitors at home, so screen size didn’t matter. What I really wanted was something portable that wasn’t too heavy to carry around. That’s why I ended up with a powerful netbook (Tom says that’s an oxymoron but he’s just jealous.). It’s not the fastest, envy-inspiring laptop in the world, but, while Tom’s having to hold his up to his chest like a large accordion and type sideways, I’ve got mine on the tray table and I’m working away. The keyboard fits my fingers, the battery lasts a long time, it doesn’t weigh much and I’ve loaded it with photos of my great niece Reese.

In the meantime, once I’m done with this blog, I’m going to retrieve a bottle of water and have a healthy snack out of my carry-on bag to refresh my energy level before I start the next project. I work better when I’ve refueled and it helps me cope with all the cry-babies on the flight – especially the adults with laptops that are too big. Hey, I’ve got the tools I need to be successful and hopefully now so do you.

Success Is Inside!

P.S. Comment and share the legal nurse consulting tools you use when in flight.

2 thoughts on “Add the Right Tools to Be a Flying Legal Nurse Consultant

  1. I can certainly empathize with your experiences and the suggestions of course are just terrific. I fly a great deal as well and my husband Mike and I have simply started using points for an upgrade if the flight is over 4 hours. As Gold Continental members we get upgraded using points 90% of the time and consider it well worth it on long flights but we continue to take our chances on the complimentary upgrades on shorter flights. It works for us.

  2. Well Vickie!! Good grief! How in the heck do you do it?

    I have been away for a little bit. I love these posts though! Please don’t stop. I was exhausted just reading this one! I bought a docking station back when Tom first told us about them. I LOVE IT! Gosh…when you have to hurry out the door, you can just grab the computer without all of those wires all over the place. I spend about 1/4 of my time in airports. That’s enough! I sort of like to travel, but walking through an airport can feel like you are walking on a tread mill. It just doesn’t end? Now when I travel, I keep those little wipes in my purse. (paranoid about germs?) I wipe the front of the seat and the armrests with them. I also have those vitamin C cough drop like things that keep you from getting a cold. I think the sickest I have been has been after a flight to Minnesota. Oh gosh! I came home with one of those coughs that well…never mind…I had a bad cough.

    Anyway. I love my Kindle! I love to take it with me and it’s so much lighter then the books. I didn’t know you had a place on Amazon so now, I will be visiting there. I always learn something when I come back to this place. I guess you are the quintessential teacher. Because it seems if it’s not CLNC® work you are teaching me about, it’s an even more practical way on “how to fly” with the best of them! And I think you told me before, the better you are, the better your business. Thanks Vickie!

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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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