Expertise
3 Faces of Bullying in Health Care
Bullying in health care shows up in many forms. Here are some examples. Bullying by a patient An angry young male is admitted to the hospital after he was shot by police during a drug deal. He becomes demanding and treats the nurses like they are his personal servants. One of the nurses finds a…
Read MoreHow the Legal Nurse Consultant Can Assist an Attorney with a Fall Case
The legal nurse consultant (LNC) assists the attorney by providing services to identify the liability, causation and damages associated with a fall case. These are some of the services. LNC Services for a Fall Case A chronology of medical care The LNC goes through the records of the plaintiff from before and after the fall.…
Read MoreWinning the Global Fight Against AIDs
Are we winning the global fight against AIDS? I remember first reading about AIDS in the early 1980s. Then AIDs was diagnosed in fewer than 20 patients in the U.S. Millions of Africans were infected, but there was no way to detect this. Dr. Michel Kazatchkine was one of the physicians involved in the early…
Read MoreHow to get information about a motor vehicle accident
Have you ever wondered how you can get hidden sources of information about a motor vehicle accident, particularly when there is a question of when it happened? Here’s a proven fact: you can and should work with the attorney to determine timing of the event. Secret sources of information about a motor vehicle accident 1.…
Read MoreCertification or Certificate – What initials would you put after your name?
Should you get a certification or a certificate as a legal nurse consultant? They are different! One of my colleagues Carol Alvin prepared this guest post. There are many different types of educations available for nurses who are interested in pursuing a career as a Legal Nurse Consultant. There are online courses, a university based…
Read MoreSpinal cord injury after a fall
A spinal cord injury can result from falls; thus a full assessment is critical after a fall to determine if there are injuries to the spinal cord. These injuries can be devastating. Common types of spinal cord injury The spine consists of 33 vertebrae: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral and 4 coccygeal.…
Read MoreWound treatment 101
Legal nurse consultants will encounter many medical records that detail types of wound treatment. Hyperbaric oxygenation, negative pressure wound therapy, surgical closure, debridement, and topical dressings are all treatment options for wounds. A combination of these modalities may be utilized to treat a wound. Virtually all wound treatment regimens incorporate the utilization of a topical…
Read MoreWhy doctors should not be testifying to nursing standards of care
Nurses are the right people to testify about nursing standards of care, right? It was not always so self-evident. We can thank the Sullivan case for reinforcing the validity of this approach. The Illinois case called Sullivan V. Edward Hospital, 806 NE 645 (Ill. 2004) involved a man who climbed over side rails and was…
Read MoreMedical malpractice: It only takes a moment
Accidents can happen in a moment, forever altering your life. Medical malpractice only takes a moment. One night last month, my husband and I were driving separately down a dark road to our house. I was ahead of him. I heard a screech of brakes, and a bang and crash of metal hitting metal. I…
Read MoreTop 10 Qualities of a Successful Legal Nurse Consultant
Lots of nurses are aware of legal nurse consulting. Many have taken a course to prepare for this field. Few are successful. Here are some tips for being a successful legal nurse consultant. 1. Current nursing license as a registered nurse. Licensed practical nurses are not considered to have the requisite educational background to provide…
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