JOB Talk: Certified legal nurse consultant
JOB Talk: Certified legal nurse consultant
Name/age: Georgina Bell, 38
Occupation: Certified legal nurse consultant
Employer: Self-employed, Bell & Associates Legal Nurse Consultants, Jamestown
Years in field: 16 as a registered nurse
Salary range: $125 to $150 an hour, according to the Vickie Milazzo Institute, which provides certification courses for legal nurse consultants
Education and certification:
■ Registered nurse
■ Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Molloy College
■ Certified legal nurse consultant, Vickie Milazzo Institute (www.legalnurse.com)
Goal of the job: Save attorneys time and money and help them best represent their clients by providing the knowledge and tools the attorneys need in medical malpractice or personal injury cases.
Tasks:
■ Organize, analyze and interpret medical records for attorneys.
■ Define standards of care and locate nurses, including other certified legal nurse consultants, doctors or specialists who may testify in court.
■ Develop reports for attorneys.
How did you become involved in this line of work?
My motivation is my desire to have a flexible schedule so I can raise my kids and stay involved in all their activities. As a registered nurse, I wanted to continue working in the field, make money and have a flexible schedule. I knew what my strengths were, as I have worked in many areas of nursing, and decided to get certified as a legal nurse consultant. With 16 years of experience as a nurse, I developed Bell & Associates.
What kinds of cases do you work on?
Bell & Associates assists attorneys with medical malpractice and personal injury cases. My area of specialty is in nursing homes. I review many of these cases and work with both plaintiffs and defendants. I also work in other areas of health care with cases such as anesthesia or medication/surgical errors, misdiagnoses or failure to diagnose. Nurses who have particular specialities and are also certified legal nurse consultants often work as subcontractors for me if an attorney needs an expert in that field to testify in court, for instance. A large part of this job is identifying and recruiting experts for cases, such as doctors, nurses, radiologists or neurologists — it depends on the case.
What advice do you have for people interested in this job?
My advice for nurses interested in this type of work is to go work for an attorney. Many attorneys, especially at larger firms, employ legal nurse consultants. Even if you’d like to work independently, it is best to get certified. Certification educated me on the legal aspects of what the attorney needs when working on a case. I learned all the legal terminology and how to present a case. I would not be successful without certification. It takes dedication to network and find the work. It has not come easy. As with making it in any business or career, persistence wears resistance.
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