There are many facets and dimensions to legal cases, so attorneys rely on the help of experts in other fields to wade through information and make a case. For registered nurses, opportunity can come in the form of being a legal nurse consultant.

Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who apply their knowledge of health science and clinical knowledge of health care to evaluating, analyzing and making informed opinions about health care-related legal matters. Registered nurses who take legal nurse consultant courses can work in independent practices or for law firms, insurance companies, healthcare systems, hospitals, ambulatory care centers, clinics, government agencies or in the business/industry sector. They apply their skills and knowledge to cases on personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, risk management, and more.

The workload for someone who completes legal nurse consultant courses and works in the field includes both interpersonal contact and behind the scenes work. Legal nurse consultants interview patients and others who might have been witness to the case. They also organize medical records, find evidence, determine the costs and damages involved in a case, and convey the information to lawyers to educate them on the medical issues at hand.

Legal nurse consultant courses are available at universities, colleges and at for-profit and non-profit businesses. Courses, which may be in the nursing division or the paralegal education division, build on a registered nurse's existing clinical and practical knowledge of health care, introducing the legal aspects of health care to the student. Legal nurse consultant courses may lead to either certification or a certificate in the specialty of nursing.
Take Your Medical Expertise and Apply It to a New Field
A career in legal nurse consulting takes registered nurses beyond the examination room and allows them to apply the knowledge they have gained from working in the medical field to the demanding legal field. Although data isn't specifically available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for legal nurse consultants, registered nurses are in a growing, high-demand field. It is the largest health care-related field with more than 2.5 million jobs available for registered nurses. Legal nurse consultants are a small, but growing, faction of the field. Between 2006 and 2016, there are expected to be more than a half-million new jobs for registered nurses, making it one of the fastest growing fields. Registered nurses make an average of $57,280, though the BLS hasn't collected data specifically on the legal nurse consulting profession. Legal nurse consultants who work in independent practice are usually paid by the hour. Those who are employed by law firms, insurance companies, and other enterprises are usually paid a salary. In terms of schooling, legal nurse consultant courses often include coursework that introduces students to the field and prepares then to work in the legal industry. Classes teach interviewing skills, law and liability basics, what the legal aspects of discovery and disclosure mean and also what the role of a legal nurse consultant is in legal proceedings. Legal nurse consultant courses also may include courses on locatiing and working with expert nurse witnesses, access to and analysis of medical records and writing reports. The skills acquired in the coursework for legal nurse consulting includes writing skills, interviewing skills, negotiating skills, and analytical skills. So get to it: Find out more about legal nurse consulting courses and legal nurse consulting certifications, then get ready to apply your knowledge to an important career.