The popularity of crime and medicine dramas on television have opened the door for great career opportunities in forensic nursing and legal nurse consulting. Although these nursing careers have been around for decades, they are only now gaining credit in the eyes of the health care community and by the legal system. If you find that you enjoy both medicine and law, these careers might provide the perfect balance.
What is a Legal Nurse Consultant?
Legal nurse consultants are the professionals who provide information and advice to lawyers and judges regarding patient health and law. For example, when an employee makes a worker’s compensation claim due to injury, or if someone is suing a hospital or doctor for malpractice, it’s necessary to call upon a professional who has knowledge of both medicine and the law in order to reach an accurate verdict. In many cases, they are the “expert witnesses” who have gone over thousands of pages of patient records in order to reach a conclusion.
Legal nurse consultants can work as independent contractors-for-hire, for insurance companies, or for legal teams that see a large incidence of medical-related cases. As such, they find themselves working on a wide range of case types, including:
- Malpractice suits
- Medical product liability
- Worker’s compensation
- Personal injury
- Wrongful death suits
- Toxic tort
- Sexual assault cases
- Criminal defense cases
Because the job is so specialized, there are advanced education requirements. Most legal nurses have a standard Bachelor or Master’s degree in nursing with direct experience in the field or within a specialty. Additional coursework or even degrees in law or legal nurse consulting are also common – all of which add up to a fairly high salary of between $50,000 and $75,000 per year.
What is Forensic Nursing?
Forensic nursing is similar to legal nurse consulting, but with a heavier emphasis on patient care rather than working within a legal setting. A forensic nurse is typically the medical professional who works directly with patients who are the victims of crime or assault, as is fairly common with rape cases, gunshot wounds, or domestic violence. They not only provide the care needed to save the patient, but they do it in a way that doesn’t compromise any necessary legal protocol like gathering samples or evidence.
In many cases, the roles of forensic nurses and legal nurse consultants overlap. For example, forensic nurses may be called upon to provide testimony in a court of law, and they may be asked to make assessments of wrongful death suits. Also, like legal nurse consultants, forensic nurses typically need advanced education and recognition by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. They also command the same higher wages, making anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000 per year.
If you’re interested in either of these fields, you may want to consider attending a nursing school that offers degrees or certifications specific to legal nurse consulting or forensic nursing. Other options include getting a traditional nursing degree and specializing a few years down the road, when you’re certain this field is right for you. Working as an ER nurse is also a great way to get started, since you’ll see many of the types of patients who need emergency care related to crime, abuse, or neglect.
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