"The use of nurses as expert witnesses has evolved since the late 1970's and early 1980s. Before then, physicians served as nursing's voice and testified at court regarding the role and accountability of professional nurses." (Guido, 1997) A nurse is the only professional with the knowledge, competency, credential, and right to judge whether the appropriate standard of nursing care has been delivered. As nurses stepped forth to assume this role in the medical legal system, the system adjusted to incorporate them and actively solicit qualified nursing assistance.

Unfortunately, the healthcare system has experienced an increase in the number of lawsuits. And nurses have stepped forth to expand their professional role within the legal system to educate attorneys, judges, and juries. Nurses are consulting into an expanding area of medical legal concerns such as personal injury, worker's compensation, product liability, criminal custody cases, risk management, life-care planning, case management, healthcare licensing board issues, insurance industry, as well as expert witness. While many nurses work in law offices, and the insurance industries, nurses are also adopting an entrepreneurial spirit and starting their own businesses.

This exciting program prepares Registered Nurses and Physician's Assistants for a career in the legal field as legal nurse consultants. Building on the medical education and clinical experience of RNs and PAs, this course provides the RN and PA with fundamental skills necessary to advise law firms, health care providers, insurance companies, and governmental agencies regarding medically-related issues and to appear in court as expert witnesses. The curriculum of this course is designed to comply with the educational guidelines specified by the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants. Successful graduates will be awarded a Certificate of Course Completion from the university through which they are registered.

COURSE PURPOSE: This six week, 45 hour course will provide a comprehensive analysis of the principles and practices of legal nurse consulting (LNC), with an emphasis on law and expert witness testimony. The course content will also provide a systematic review for those preparing to take the Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC) examination. While most of the main subject matter will pertain to legal nursing standards, professionals in other health care disciplines (pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistants, etc.) may gain increased skills and knowledge of the medical legal system to enhance their roles as service providers and functions as expert witnesses, but participants without an RN background might not be able to take the LNCC exam after graduation. For more information about the LNCC exam, please contact the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants at 877-402-2562 or www.aalnc.org.

REQUIRED TEXT: Students should purchase the following text: Iyer, Patricia W. (2003). Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practices, 2nd edition. New York: CRC Press. Contact The Center for Legal Studies at 1-800-522-7737 or American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants at www.aalnc.org, 877-402-2562 or 847-375-4713 to order. (This book will be referred to as “LNCPP” throughout the course.)

COURSE GOALS INCLUDE:

• Increase knowledge of legal terminology, medical malpractice, and the evolving legal system.
• Demonstrate the knowledge of professional skills necessary to enhance one's medical legal consulting role.
• Identify new arenas for expanding one's interests and skills for professional mobility and growth.
• Consider and contrast working as a full-time, part-time, or freelance legal nurse consultant.

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

TESTS: For each weekly topic you will submit a 100-point exam covering the topics in your weekly reading. These tests are due by 5:00 p.m. each Tuesday, and are submitted using the Private Mail tool.

BULLETIN BOARD ASSIGNMENTS: You will also post your responses to six class participation assignments. These assignments will be submitted using the Bulletin Board tool and make up your class participation grade. All weekly objectives, assignments, and tests can be found in the Lesson Material tool. Additional resources are available by accessing the URL Library tool.

GRADING
Your grade will be based on your completion of six tests and class participation. The tests and memos are submitted using the Private Mail tool. You will have the opportunity to engage in "class participation" by using the Bulletin Board tool to respond to the bulletin board assignments throughout the course. Also, participating in the bulletin board assignments will enhance your understanding of the reading material.

Your final grade will be figured as follows:

• The six tests are 100 points each and comprise 70% of your grade.
• Your participation in class participation assignments comprises 30% of your grade.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Students may drop the course with a full tuition refund if written notice is sent to The Center for Legal Studies by email to info@legalstudies.com by the Wednesday before class begins. Students may drop the course with a 50% tuition refund if written notice is sent to The Center for Legal Studies by email to info@legalstudies.com anytime from the Thursday before the course begins until the first Thursday of class. After the first Thursday of class no refunds will be issued.