Those wishing to enter the nursing field as quickly as possible need look no further than an Associate of Arts in Nursing (ADN) degree. This type of degree is offered both online and on-campus at community or junior colleges. It takes two years to complete and consists of classroom training and hands-on clinical experience. Depending on the program, laboratory work may also be required. After completing the program and passing the NCLEX exam, individuals can legally begin practicing nursing as registered nurses.
Associate Degree in Nursing Information
precondition
To enter the ADN program, students must have a Colleges for Legal Nurse diploma or equivalent. Some schools may require applicants to complete English and biology courses.
procedure
Associate of Science in Nursing students learn about medicine, how medicine heals the human body, and many other nursing-related and therapeutic topics. Students can take the following courses:
- Anatomy
- Medical decision making
- Medical-Surgical Nursing
- How to treat patients.
- Nursing Ethics
- pharmacology
- Physiology
- psychology
salary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for registered nurses is 69,200 per year as of May 2011. However, this number varies depending on the healthcare facility you work at, your geographic location, and other factors. . Top earners (10th percentile) in their field earn an average of 96,600 per year.
Between now and 2018, registered nurse jobs are expected to grow by 22%. The fastest growth is expected in urban and rural areas, where doctors’ offices and hospitals are the largest employers in the healthcare industry.
Licensing and Continuing Education
After completing an associate’s degree in nursing from an accredited institution, graduates must pass the National Board Licensing Examination (NCLEX-RN) to practice as registered nurses. But the training doesn’t stop there, as you’ll need to take additional exams to keep your license. Some registered nurses want to further their careers by becoming nurse practitioners. To do this, you must complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.
Associate Degree from Accredited School of Nursing
As mentioned, a DNA degree can be obtained from a community or junior college and can be considered a cost-effective alternative to earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. However, those who wish to enroll in an associate degree program must complete their education at an accredited school to take the NCLEX exam. Otherwise, you could waste 2 years of someone’s life and thousands of dollars.
What is a Legal Consultant Nurse?
Nursing legal consultation is to evaluate and discuss the facts about the delivery and results of medical services and to present an informed opinion. With a strong foundation of education and experience, LNCs are qualified to assess compliance with nursing practice standards and guidelines. LNCs can be used successfully in non-medical malpractice cases such as personal injury, toxic tort, product liability, criminal disputes, probate, and marriage cases.
LNCs are licensed registered nurses. He or she performs critical analyzes of clinical and administrative practice, medical facts and problems, and their results. The Services are provided to legal professionals, medical professionals, consumers of medical and legal services, and other appropriate persons. LNC services are based on the professionalism of being a nurse. The Association of Legal Nurses (AALNC) defined legal nurse consulting as a nursing profession in 2006, a position endorsed by the College of Nurse Practitioners.
Nurse practitioners providing legal nursing advice can be found on staff in many settings, including law or plaintiff firms, risk management offices, federal and state agencies, and insurance companies. An equal number of LNCs are self-employed (called “independents”) and serve customers on both sides of the bar.
The LNC is not a paralegal.
There is some role confusion regarding differences in the preparation and role of auxiliaries and LNCs. By definition, paralegals and paralegals have the right, through education, training, or work experience, to perform the specifically delegated substantive legal work of an attorney. Some legal education is usually a requirement for paralegals. Paralegals learn general law, legal studies, torts, legal writing, civil litigation, and litigation technical support. The simple explanation is that paralegals have some training in law and LNCs are nurses who have developed experience helping attorneys with medical matters.
Although many LNCs have gained knowledge of the legal system through experiences such as consulting with attorneys and attending seminars, legal education is not a prerequisite for the independent practice of legal nurse consultation. Skilled nursing education and medical expertise make LNC a unique and valued partner in legal proceedings.
LNCs are not typically nursing paralegals.
Many attorneys unfamiliar with the term legal nurse consultant, or its abbreviation LNC, may refer to a nurse as a “nurse assistant.” This term is incorrect if the nurse did not attend a paralegal program. The correct use of the term indicates that a nursing assistant is an assistant who is also a nurse. In contrast, a legal nurse consultant is a registered nurse who consults on medical matters within the legal arena. Confusion about roles also arises because, in some settings, legal nurse consultants perform some of the same tasks that paralegals and paralegals perform, especially in small law offices.
While LNCs can gain knowledge of legal documents such as complaints, interrogations, production requests, etc., most LNCs do not have legal training and are not typically used to draft legal documents. His focus does not include wills, real estate transactions, and other non-medical areas of law, which are typical parts of paralegal training. These tasks do not take full advantage of the skills of the legal nurse consultant.
Legal education programs offered to nurses by paralegals or paralegal education programs also create role confusion. To the extent that legal education is provided to nurses through paralegal or paralegal education programs, it should be considered separate from paralegal and paralegal education due to differences in practice in the legal field. Therefore, the AALNC position is that LNC education should be developed and presented as a professional nursing curriculum by nurse educators in collaboration with legal educators.
