After working in a hospital as a registered nurse for more than 20 years, Warwick resident Francine McCoy was looking for a change. Though she said she loves nursing, changes in the field and in health care administration have caused her to become disenchanted. That’s why she’s so excited to be a part of Johnson & Wales University’s new Nurse Paralegal program.
“Something just clicked,” she said. “I think this program is very necessary now. With a lot of potential lawsuits, with the advent of downsizing and such short staffing in hospitals, I think there is going to be a need for nurses to understand the legal aspects of their changing profession.”
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Dr. Albert Martin, chairman of the Legal Studies Department at Johnson & Wales University’s College of Business agreed. Martin said the rapid growth of managed health care has created a demand for employees who are trained in both law and medicine.
“Through the years the university has gotten calls from a variety of firms looking for a paralegal with a medical background,” he said.
Martin said legal nurses have a wide variety of employment options, ranging from personal injury and medical malpractice law firms to insurance companies, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), healthcare organizations and state and federal agencies.
“All of these organizations need personnel who are able to comprehend medical and legal language. Legal Nurse Certification really fits that need,” Martin said.
Among the functions performed by legal nurses are interviewing clients and expert witnesses, reviewing accident and investigative reports, assisting with discovery of medical records, researching legal and medical issues, and assisting with client preparation before trail.
“This profession really allows students to blend their nursing and medical training with their legal education,” Martin said.
The Legal Nurse Certification Program consists of seven courses, six of which are part of the university’s existing paralegal studies program. The seventh course, Insurance Law, was added as a requirement specifically for the Legal Nurse program. Martin said students could complete the program in one or two years depending on their work schedules. To be eligible for the program students must be a registered nurse and have an associate’s degree in any discipline.
And though the program was just added to the curriculum this fall, Martin said there are already about 26 students enrolled.
“It seems to me that my students are enjoying themselves,” he said. “It’s like everything else you just need to learn the language.”
McCoy said though learning the jargon of the legal profession isn’t easy, she is excited by the class and Dr. Martin.
“My expertise lies in the medical profession and its terminology,” she said. “The class is very enlightening.”
Before creating the program, Martin said the university sent the idea out for “industry review,” asking representatives in both professions if the course would be relevant, a prerequisite for beginning any class at the university. Martin said the industry review was “overwhelmingly positive.”
According to Martin, programs similar to the Johnson & Wales Legal Nurse Certification are “popping up” across the country.
“National statistics show that nurses have a high burn-out rate,” Martin said. “This provides a way for students to use their nursing degree, but in a less intense situation. Many of my students investigated this as a way to get off the night shift and have a more regular schedule. RN magazine, one of the mostly widely read publications in the nursing field, always had advertisements for someone in need of a legal nurse.”
McCoy believes more nurses will take advantage of the program once they know it’s there.
“The whole profession is changing and I think that this course will be the trend of the future.”
