How to Become a Legal Nurse Consultant

Nurses with an appetite for both ER trauma and courtroom drama may have a future in legal nurse consulting. Learn about the options.

By Martina Mascali, Monster Contributor

Would you like to work in a unique role within the nursing profession that combines medical knowledge with legal expertise? If you are an RN looking to expand your career and are interested in the legal field, find out how to become a legal nurse consultant (LNC). In this article you’ll learn about the duties and responsibilities this role entails, estimated salary, hot job locations for LNCs, and much more.

Are Legal Nurse Consultants in Demand?

Before learning how to become a legal nurse consultant, it’s important to know if this is a sensible career path. Fortunately, this is a role that offers both fulfilment and job security. As an LNC, you’ll play a crucial role in ensuring that justice is served while making a positive impact on the lives of patients and their families. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for registered nurses, including legal nurse consultants, is expected to grow by 6% - that’s about 203,200 job openings each year.

What Is a Legal Nurse Consultant?

A legal nurse consultant is a registered nurse who provides consultation services to attorneys, insurance companies, and other legal professionals, in cases that involve medical issues. Possessing extensive knowledge and experience in the healthcare field, legal nurse consultants assist in cases related to medical malpractice, personal injury, workers’ compensation, and more.

They’re team players with a solid clinical background and online research skills. This job has an emphasis on medical research, and the ability to multi-task in a busy and fast-paced environment. To land this role you need to possess great organizational and interpersonal skills as well as excellent written and verbal communication skills.

What Does a Legal Nurse Consultant Do?

Legal nurse consultants play an integral part in assisting in case selection, pre-litigation, and litigation processes of matters involving injury, medical malpractice, and other healthcare-related legal cases. As an LNC, you’ll mainly work for law firms, insurance companies, government offices, healthcare facilities, patient safety advocacy groups, health maintenance organizations, or forensic or criminal justice organizations.

The main job responsibilities for legal nurse consultants include:

  • Analyzing, summarizing, and explaining the content of medical records and medical literature to attorneys, paralegals, and other legal experts.
  • Reviewing and advising on initial cases.
  • Helping in locating medical experts with an understanding of medically complex situations, and related issues, to testify in potential medical malpractice cases.
  • Giving support for defense experts all other medical witnesses in depositions regarding medicine.
  • Researching and citing medical resources and professional literature related to cases.
  • Looking into the medical issues involved with potentially harmful products.
  • Attending trials and depositions to provide support and guidance to attorneys.
  • Reviewing and analyzing medical images, such as x-rays and MRI scans.
  • Investigating allegations of medical malpractice and negligence.
  • Attending autopsies and assisting with the interpretation of medical findings.
  • Providing expert testimony in court to explain medical concepts and support legal arguments.
  • Developing relationships with attorneys, paralegals, physicians, nurses, and other professionals in the medical and legal fields.

How to Become a Legal Nurse Consultant

You must have a current registered nurse (RN) license to become a legal nurse consultant. This requires completing an accredited nursing program, such as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

You then need to gain experience as a registered nurse before moving into this career. Most jobs for legal nurse consultants demand candidates to have at least five years of patient care experience. This is critical because it provides you with a solid foundation of medical knowledge and helps you understand the practical aspects of patient care.

Legal Nurse Consultant Certification

Once you have at least five years’ experience as an RN, you can pursue a legal nurse consultant certification through the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants or the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. Pursuing certification isn’t mandatory when following the path for how to become a legal nurse consultant - you can find employment as LNC even without one. However, if you hold a legal nurse consultant certification you can apply to a wider and better-paid range of job opportunities. You’ll also increase your chances of getting hired sooner.

Legal Nurse Consultant Salary

According to Monster’s data, the median hourly RN salary is $34.94 but it can range from $25.91 to $47.92 depending on your job location. RNs working as legal nurse consultants typically earn more and, in most cases, a legal nurse consultant salary ranges from $125 to $175 per hour. More experienced legal nurse consultants charge up to $200 per hour and those who serve as testifying experts charge between $250 to $400 per hour.

How to Find Legal Nurse Consultant Jobs

With so many legal nurse consultant jobs out there it’s important that you put together an optimized resume and a well-written cover letter for each one you apply to. Your resume needs to catch attention quickly and your cover letter must be unique. This is crucial because recruiters don’t have much time to read applications, especially if they’re missing important details or don’t following basic standards. Check out our RN resume and RN cover letter examples for tips on how to write and correctly optimize yours.

You might be able to earn more of find more opportunities in other locations across the country. So, check out the top five states that are hiring the most registered nurses:

If you want to get more specific, take a look at the top five cities with employment opportunities for you:

Take Your Nursing Career to the Next Level with Help from Monster

Now that you know how to become a legal nurse consultant, take the next step by joining Monster and uploading your resume to share with potential employers. We’ll send you new job opportunities in your preferred areas, plus exclusive job search tips and tricks. Don’t wait, start your journey with Monster today, registering is fast and free!