High School
In high school, take mathematics and science courses, including biology, chemistry, and physics. Health courses will also be helpful. English and speech courses should not be neglected because you must be able to communicate well with lawyers and other legal professionals. Business and accounting classes will provide you with the basic tools necessary to run a business.
Postsecondary Training
Legal nurse consultants must first become registered nurses. All legal nurse consultants must have clinical nursing experience to draw on in order to present cases and testify. They must also have up-to-date medical knowledge.
Legal nurse consultants should have work experience in critical care areas such as hospital emergency rooms, intensive care units, and obstetrics, since these are the areas that are most likely to be involved in litigation. Legal education is not a prerequisite, although many legal nurse consultants acquire knowledge of the legal system by consulting with attorneys, taking classes or completing a paralegal education program, and attending seminars.
A few colleges (such as Bergen Community College, Kent State University, and Madonna University) offer associate degrees and advanced certificates in legal consulting or related fields.
Many independent legal nurse consultants are practicing nurses. It is important for legal nurse consultants to stay abreast of changes in the medical field. They need to actively practice nursing or take continuing education courses to stay current. They must be able to apply their knowledge and evaluate medical issues in litigation.
The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants offers an online course for aspiring legal nurse consultants. Visit http://www.aalnc.org/page/legal-nurse-consulting-professional-course for more information.
Other Education or Training
The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants offers webinars and other continuing education opportunities to legal nurse consultants. Recent courses included So You Want to Be an LNC? The Real World: Fact or Fiction, Persuasive Writing for the Legal Nurse Consultant, Workers’ Compensation, Risk Management, and Toxic Torts.
- Advanced Practice Nurses
- Airport Security Personnel
- Arbitrators
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bankruptcy Lawyers
- Biotechnology Patent Lawyers
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Civil Litigation Lawyers
- Community Health Nurses
- Corporate Lawyers
- Corrections Officers
- Court Interpreters and Translators
- Court Reporters
- Crime Analysts
- Criminal Lawyers
- Critical Care Nurses
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Detectives
- Elder Law Attorneys
- Emergency Nurses
- Emergency Services Dispatchers
- Environmental Lawyers
- Family Lawyers
- FBI Agents
- Forensic Experts
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Genetic Genealogists
- Geriatric Nurses
- Home Health Care and Hospice Nurses
- Intellectual Property Lawyers
- Judges
- Law Librarians
- Lawyers
- Legal Operations Specialists
- Legal Secretaries
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Litigation Support/eDiscovery Analysts
- Mergers and Acquisitions Attorneys
- Neonatal Nurses
- Nurse Anesthetists
- Nurse Assistants
- Nurse Managers
- Nurse Practitioners
- Nurse-Midwives
- Nursing Instructors
- Occupational Health Nurses
- Oncological Nurses
- Paralegals
- Parole Officers
- Patent Agents
- Patent Lawyers
- Police Officers
- Polygraph Examiners
- Process Servers
- Psychiatric Nurses
- Public Interest Lawyers
- Real Estate Lawyers
- Registered Nurses
- School Nurses
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Security Consultants
- Security Guards
- Space Lawyers
- Tax Attorneys