“You wake up and your office is at your fingertips. You don’t have to drive anywhere. You don’t even have to get dressed if you don’t want to. You save money on utilities, office rental and other fees that come along with having an office. You can even deduct the portion of your home expenses that are used for your office (Ask your CPA for help). A home office provides you with a lot of flexibility and freedom. This freedom is one of the reasons I love being a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.
When I first started my business full time I bought a very small two bedroom condo thinking this would be plenty of room for my home and my business. Within six months I found myself screaming out one day, ‘I need more space’ as the medical records came rolling in for new cases. I found a bigger place and my CLNC® business has grown by leaps and bounds. Recently I moved from the desert to the beach. In my desire to save money I found a small condo to rent very close to the beach. It was bigger than my first condo but much smaller than the house I had just moved out of. I signed a lease and life was good. Within six months, history repeated itself and I found myself screaming out once more, ‘I need more space’ I was living in my office. I immediately began the search for just the right house that would serve as my home with an office instead of an office where I live.”
Sandra Higelin, RN, MSN, CS, CWCN, CLNC
“Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. You can be at home with your children or relatives that need your help. You can be at home with your dog. You have more hours in the day because you don’t lose time commuting.
I have an assistant who helps me every day. She is a good worker and her fees are very reasonable. She doesn’t need a desk or a designated work space. She can work anywhere. I’ve even seen her use the floor. I really only have one complaint about her. She brings her babies to work – as you can imagine, that can be a problem. Sometimes she wants me to play with her babies when I’m trying to work. I can’t stay mad at her long because she really doesn’t understand my interruption policy. After all, she’s just a seven-year-old Schnauzer.
I remember one particular time when I was on the phone with an attorney-client discussing a case. Right in the middle of our conversation she decided to play with her babies (toys). One of her babies sounds just like a real cow mooing when it’s squeezed. Naturally, she had to stand in front of me squeezing it as fast as she could. I grabbed the toy and threw it out of my office door, but that made her sillier. She thought I was up for a good game of fetch. I was about to apologize to my attorney-client for the sound effects when he told me he knew I lived in a rural area, but he didn’t know my office was in a barn!”
Jane Hurst, RN, CLNC
“I love the flexibility that working from home affords me as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. Nurses with children can arrange their daily schedules around their kids without that knot of anxiety they feel when they need to ask for a shift change to attend a doctor appointment or a school function. The same holds true for those caring for elderly parents. This past summer, I actually worked from the deck of my beach house overlooking the bay!”
Annmarie Johnson, RN, BSN, CLNC
“Working at home has to be the best decision I have made in recent years. Because I have few interruptions, I am more productive than ever. Working at home also allows me to be there for repairmen. My dog definitely likes me at home. Instead of taking a coffee break, we go for a walk, which actually clears my mind even better than coffee. I can also do my online banking, shopping and emailing, all from my workspace. And an added plus – my desk can be as messy as I need it to be.”
Camy Joyner, RN, CCM, CLNC
“The advantages of working from home are obvious and my favorite is that I put my professional standards to the test every day. I always turn out a great work product that I am proud of for my attorney-clients. Most important, I never take the opportunity to be my own boss for granted.”
Mildred Mannion, RN, BSN, CNOR, CLNC
“I arranged and decorated my home office space based on my preferences. There is no commute time involved so I get to work immediately and when it is convenient for me. I stay involved in my family’s life. It can be challenging at times, but with good planning and organization you can arrange your business hours around your family’s schedule and be successful at being a CLNC® consultant, mommy and wife! Working from home also allows me the flexibility and comfort that are not often found in the office setting. Screening cases in comfy sweats feels great.
Recently I had a conference call scheduled with an attorney-client to discuss a case. Being a new mom to a five-month-old baby girl made organization and anticipation more crucial than ever before. I had everything set and staged for both my daughter and my CLNC® business to allow this call to go smoothly and without a hitch. The attorney telephoned me and we were off and running. Halfway through the conversation my baby decided to exercise her new found voice and began shrieking, babbling, blowing raspberries and giggling so loud that my attorney-client naturally could hear her over me talking. We both began laughing so hard and he told me he thinks I have a future trial lawyer on my hands! The next thing I knew he went into a ten minute recap of his four children and how each one was as a baby. It was very touching and I listened attentively before gently redirecting him back to the business at hand. We were able to successfully complete our conversation with no more interruptions from the future trial lawyer who tired herself out and fell asleep in her bouncy chair!”
Julie Somen-Becker, RN, BSN, CLNC
“I always enjoyed evening shifts so I like that I am free to plan my day as I choose. I am more focused and work more efficiently in the late afternoon or early evening clinical shifts. I make my attorney appointments or phone calls during the usual daytime ‘business hours,’ take a break and then go back to work in the evening. It works for me.”
Linda Turner, RN, MSN, NNP-BC, CLNC
“When my son was about five years old, he fell and got hurt at school. When the school nurse asked him if his mommy was home so she could call me, he said, ‘Yea, my mommy is home. She doesn’t work; she just locks herself in a room all day and doesn’t talk to us until she comes out.’ The school nurse thought that was a little unusual. I am sure she was thinking about where the number to Child Protective Services was at that point. When she called to tell me not only about the fall, but also what my son had said, I explained my profession to her and that my CLNC® business was set up as a home office. She laughed and said, ‘Boy, I wish I could work at home and have the luxury of working whenever I wanted to.’”
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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.
