ADVANCED LEGAL NURSE CONSULTING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
Instructor:
By: Dominick L. Flarey, PhD, MBA, RN, CS, CNAA, FACHE, CCH -
Vita
Certified Specialist in Legal Nurse Consulting
(By the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting) E-Mail
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the ADVANCED Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate Program offered by Canyon College. You have made a wise decision to pursue study and acquire the knowledge and skills needed to practice legal nurse consulting at an advanced level. This area of specialty practice is growing all the time and many nurses are using their skills to practice full or part time in this area. Legal Nurse Consulting is a very exciting and challenging practice specialty. I am sure you will be pleased with our certificate program’s course of study. This course will surely prepare you to practice at an advanced level and thus increase your marketability, your services offered, and grow your knowledge base and practice.
This certificate course is formatted for 180 contact hours of self-paced study. Upon completion of the course, participants will be awarded the Certificate in Advanced Legal Nurse Consulting as well as 12 semester hours of credit from the College. The cost for the program is $1,000.00.
This course is designed to be self-paced. An authoritative text is used and communication with the course instructor is by email, telephone, fax, and/or US postal mail. Participants can utilize all of any one of these vehicles to communicate with the instructor.
The course is presented in four (4) modules. Each module is outlined below, including content. There are two examinations for this course of study. There is a comprehensive objective type of examination following the completion of Modules 1 and 2. There is a comprehensive objective type of examination following completion of Modules 3 and 4.
Students will also develop two learning portfolios. The first learning portfolio is due before taking the first examination, and the second learning portfolio is due before taking the final examination. Full instructions for developing the learning portfolio’s are provided upon student enrollment.
Time Frame:
The certificate program is a self-paced, guided study course. Participants are given twelve
(12) months to complete the program. You may study at your own pace, and can progress through
the course as quickly as you like, or as paced as you like. Instructions for moving through the
course are provided below.
Requirements for Enrollment:
The following requirements are established for enrollment into the Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant Certificate Program:
A graduate of Canyon College’s Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate Program.
or….. a Registered Nurse with evidence of current Certification in Legal Nurse Consulting from an approved certification body that confers a Legal Nurse Consulting Certification. Applicants must provide the college a copy of their current verification of Certification in Legal Nurse Consulting.
or….a Registered Nurse who can provide verification of practice as a Legal Nurse Consultant for a period of at least 2 years prior to making application into the program. Applicants electing this requirement are required to submit 2 letters of reference from employers or clients, verifying practice as a Legal Nurse Consultant.
INSTRUCTOR CONTACT: you have many avenues of access to the course instructor. You may contact the instructor anytime you have questions, would like clarification, etc. Your interaction with the instructor is one-on-one and this is highly beneficial as you proceed through the course. You may contact your instructor anytime you need to. Here are the instructor contacts:
TEXTBOOKS: Online Bookstore
This course of study requires the use of a text book. The text for the certificate program is:
Nursing Malpractice, Third Edition, edited by Patricia W. Iyer and Barbara J. Levin. Contributors: James O'Donnell, Tonia Dandry Aiken, et al. Lawyers & Judges Publishing, 2007. (Product Code: 5104) ISBN: 1933264209 ISBN-13: 9781933264202
1504 pages, casebound/hardcover.
Last known MSRP: L&J: $199.00; B&N: $159.20; B&N Members: $143.28; Amazon: $125.37. There may be an additional fee for shipping. Online Bookstore
Or order from the publisher: http://www.lawyersandjudges.com Phone Orders: 800-209-7109 Fax Orders: 800-330-8795
Call and order your text book as soon as possible so that you can begin your course of study. You will need the text to start your assignments.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D., MBA, RN,CS, CNAA, FACHE - is President of Dominick L. Flarey & Associates, a health care consulting firm, and The Center for Medical-Legal Consulting. He has held positions as a certified nurse practitioner, associate administrator of patient care, chief operating office and administrator in acute care hospitals. He is a faculty member for Learning Tree University. He was an executive consultant to a national "big 6" accounting firm’s health care practice and was a service line administrator and consultant for case management for another national consulting firm. He holds a BSN, an MBA, and Doctorates in nursing administration and management.
Dr. Flarey is a sought after speaker and lectures frequently across the country on Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care. He has a private practice as a Legal Nurse Consultant and has consulted and provided expert testimony in nursing and health care malpractice cases all over the country.
Dr. Flarey is certified in nursing administration advanced and as an adult nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Association Credentialing Center. He is a board certified health care executive by the American College of Healthcare Executives, and is a Fellow in the college. He has held national certification in managed care from the Professional Education Institute. He is a Certified Medical-Legal Consultant.
He is editor-in-chief of JONA’s ( Journal of Nursing Administration) Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Nursing Administration, Seminars for Nurse Managers, Case Management: Managing the Process of Patient Care, and Nursing Outcomes. He has authored over 50 published articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Flarey is editor/author of the book, "Redesigning Nursing Care Delivery: Transforming Our Future," published by Lippincott/Raven publishers. He is also co-editor/author of the following books by Aspen Publishers: "Reengineering Nursing and Health Care: The Handbook for Organizational Transformation," winner of a 1995 AJN book of the year award, "The Handbook of Nursing Case Management: Health Care Delivery in a World of Managed Care," "Case Studies in Case Management," "Health Care Outcomes: Collaborative, Path-Based Approaches," and "Cardiovascular Outcomes: Collaborative, Path-Based Approaches," and "Process-Centered Healthcare Organizations."
He is owner and president of his own consulting firm located in northeastern Ohio. He currently practices as a medical-legal nurse consultant. He has consulted for numerous attorneys across the country on medical and nursing malpractice cases, personal injury cases, product liability cases, workers compensation cases, and has served as an expert witness in many nursing malpractice cases.
GRADING: Examinations for Modules 1, 2, and 3 are objective type exams. There are fifty
(50) questions on each exam. The grading scale is:
90-100%
= A
80-89%
= B
70-79%
= C
60-69%
= D
Below 60%
= F
GRADE REPORTS: every attempt will be made for the instructor to return to you your percentage score and letter grade with in one week of receipt.
SUBMITTING EXAMS: examinations will be taken and submitted to the instructor through an online exam. The link to the exam may be found in the electronic classroom. Prior approval must be obtained to access each exam.
ON-LINE MESSAGE BOARD: Canyon College has provided an on-line message board for the participants of this course. The message board is a vehicle whereby the instructor can post news, current events, new findings related to the study content, etc. All currently enrolled students may at any time post to the message board. This includes questions or information related to the course and the course content. Once enrolled, you will receive directions for accessing and using the message board.
CEU & CONTACT HOURS: our program has been approved for 180 contact hours of education credit by the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting. After enrollment into the program, students will receive further information regarding obtaining the contact hours certificate.
CERTIFICATE COURSE SUMMARY: This course is an advanced course for clinical practice as an Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant and for preparation for certification as an Advanced Specialist is Legal Nurse Consulting by the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting. This course is a comprehensive course and provides instruction/study on all of the major facets of legal nurse consulting, including advanced concepts in nursing malpractice. It is both comprehensive and intensive in its curriculum. Requirements for enrollment are provided above.
This course is formatted as an on-line course offered by Canyon College. Students, once registered, receive instructions for accessing the advanced legal nurse consultant classroom. Here students are provided with course reading assignments, course examinations, materials for portfolio development and access to the course instructor, and case studies for analysis. A required textbook is used for this course.
This course is presented in four (4) modules. When all four module examinations have been successfully completed with passing scores of 70% or above, the student receives a college certificate in Advanced Legal Nurse Consulting from Canyon College.
Hours of Study/Instruction = 180 hours; 12 Semester credits
Overall Course Objectives:
To prepare practicing legal nurse consultants to enhance their practices of Legal Nurse Consulting with sufficient knowledge for practice at an advanced level of practice and consultation.
To prepare legal nurse consultants to practice in a variety of practice settings as a legal nurse consultant including; medical and nursing malpractice, expert witness role, toxic torts, product liability, insurance industry, law firms, health care related organizations, and as an entrepreneurial legal nurse consultant.
To gain the knowledge and skills required to comprehensively analyze cases for attorney clients, or other types of clients, at an advanced level beyond basic preparation.
To learn effective report writing skills and presentation skills for analyzed cases.
To understand and practice legal nurse consulting with regards to high ethics and adherence to standards of practice
To prepare practicing legal nurse consultants to increase their body of knowledge related to the practice of legal nurse consulting for personal and career growth.
To prepare legal nurse consultants to successfully achieve certification in Advanced Legal Nurse Consulting.
To provide legal nurse consultants with a college level credential for the practice of advanced legal nurse consulting.
MODULES – A SHORT ABSTRACT OF CONTENT BY MODULES
Module I - Content
Nursing Practice and Documentation
The Foundations of Nursing Practice
Standards of Care
Standards of Care: Locality Rule or National Standard?
Standards of Care versus Practice Guidelines
Evidence-Based Practice
The Roots of Patient Injury
Errors in Health Care
Sentinel events
Staffing
The Nurse: Roots of Patient Injury
An Inside Look at Today's Health Care Environment
Hospital Nursing Delivery Systems
Standards of Care
Theories of Liability
The Nursing Chain of Command
Staffing Issues
Assignments and Change of Shift
Competency and Staff Development
Discharge Planning
Advanced Practice Nursing
Nursing Practice Settings
Nursing Documentation
Obtaining Medical Records
Components of the Medical Record
Other Sources of Information about the Patient
Organizing Medical Records
Nursing Charting Systems
Common Areas of Nursing Liability
Obstetrical Nursing Malpractice Issues
Deviations from the Standards of Care
Screening Cases
Areas of Specific Nursing Liability
Identification of High-Risk Patients
Defenses
Neonatal Nursing Malpractice Issues
Standard of Care
Scope of Practice
Common Causes of Liability
Issues Related to Informed Consent
Pediatric Nursing Malpractice Issues
Initial Review of the Pediatric Case
Five Litigation Issues in Pediatric Nursing
Standards of Care for Pediatric Nursing
Scope of Practice Emergency Nursing Malpractice Issues
Importance of Standards of Care in Litigation
Module II - Content
Critical Care Nursing Malpractice Issues
Scope of Practice
Standards of Care
Sources of Liability
Trends that Influence the Liability of Critical Care Nurses
Screening Critical Care Cases
Perioperative Nursing Malpractice Issues
Perioperative Standard of Care
Legal Theories
Nursing Errors
Post anesthesia Care Unit Liability Issues
Screening the Perioperative Case
Nurse Anesthesia Malpractice Issues
Common Potential Sources of Liability
Analysis of Malpractice Claims
Safety in the Operating Room
Policies
Analysis of the Medical Record
Potential Defenses
Identifying Potential Defendants
Psychiatric Nursing Malpractice Issues
Expanding Liabilities
Standards of Care for Psychiatric Nursing
Advanced Practice
Screening the Psychiatric Nursing Malpractice Case
Medical Surgical Nursing Malpractice Issues
Factors that Contribute to Malpractice Claims
Deviations from the Standard of Care
Defense of medical surgical nursing malpractice cases
Sub acute and Long-Term Care Nursing Malpractice Issues
Screening the Long-Term-Care Case
Liability Issues Associated with the Assessment and Care Planning Process
Common Liability Issues
Sources of Liability in Long-Term Care
Scope of Practice Issues
Risk Prevention
Defense of the Long-Term-Care Case
Managed Care Liability Issues
Financial Issues and HMOs
ERISA
HMO Liability and Fiduciary Duty
Module III- Content
Home Health Care Nursing Malpractice Issues
Managed Care Issues
Home Care Standards
Anatomy of the Home Care Medical Record
Potential Areas of Liability
Defense Strategies
Case Studies
Case Screening
Medication Errors
Types of Errors
When the Five Rights Go Wrong
Additional Types of Medication Errors
Error Categorization by Severity
Category III Errors
Beyond Malpractice to Health Care Fraud-Nurses at Risk
What Is Health Care Fraud and Abuse?
How Is Fraud Committed?
How a Nurse Contributes to Fraud and Abuse
How the State Nursing Board Would Become Involved
Nurses with UPINs
Schemes
Attorney-Client Issues
Qui Tam
Fraud in a Medical Malpractice Case
Case Summaries
Litigation of Nursing Malpractice Claims
Common Nursing Breaches of the Standard of Care
Examples of Nursing Malpractice Cases
Sources for Medical Malpractice Cases
Elements of Negligence
Investigation of the Potential Claim
Filing in State or Federal Court
Coverage-Professional Liability Insurance
Who Should be a Defendant
Setting Up the File
The Contract
Medical Records
Expert Witnesses
What Do You Have to Prove?
Discovery Tools
Interrogatories
Request for Production of Documents and Things
Tips for Requesting Appropriate Documents in Requests for Production
Admissions of Fact
Physical Examinations
Depositions
Legal Doctrines and Liability
Damage Caps
Settling a Claim
Preparing the Case
The Defense Perspective
Initiation of the Case
Investigating the Claim
Meeting with the Client and Answering Interrogatories
The Deposition
The Impending Trial
The Legal Nurse Consultant: An Essential Team Member
Legal Nurse Consultant versus Paralegal
Roles of the LNC
Confidentiality of Work Product
Limitations of the Legal Nurse Consultant's Role
The Independent Legal Nurse Consultant
The Legal Nurse Consultant Employed as a Risk Manager
The Legal Nurse Consultant Employed by a Law Firm
The role of the in-house LNC
Summary of a Nursing Malpractice Case
Medical Record Review
Analysis of a Case
Questions Prepared to Depose a Defendant Nurse
Working with Nursing Expert Witnesses
Use of an Expert Witness in a Nursing Malpractice Case
Qualifications of the Nurse Expert Witness
Finding the Nurse Expert Witness
Preparing the Documents
Ethical Aspects of Preparing the Case
Evaluating the Opposing Expert's Curriculum Vitae and Report
Communicating with Nurse Expert Witnesses
Additional Services of the Expert Witness
Preparing the Expert for Deposition
Deposing the Opposing Expert
Preparing the Expert for Trial
Cross-Examination
Cross Examination of the Opposing Expert
Life Care Plans
Use of Life Care Plans
Steps in the Preparation of the Life Care Plan
The Components of the Life Care Plan
Evaluation of a Life Care Plan in Preparation for Testimony
Ethical Issues
Module IV- Content
Vocational Damages
Reasons for Using a Vocational Expert
What Are the Areas of Expertise of the Vocational Expert?
Materials Desirable for Vocational Assessments
The Role of the Forensic Economist in Nursing Malpractice Actions
Ethical Dimensions of Using an Expert Economist
Dimensions of Economic Damages
Pain and Suffering
Pain as an Element of Damages
Suffering
Pain and Suffering Testimony
Format for the Pain and Suffering Report
12 Case Examples
Testimony at Trial
Demonstrative Evidence
The Courtroom as a Classroom
Preservation of Evidence
Evidentiary Considerations
Types of Trial Exhibits
Basic Considerations for Use of Exhibits at Trial
Authentication of Exhibits
Commonly Used Types of Demonstrative Evidence in Nursing Malpractice Cases
Considerations in Selecting an Approach to Presenting Demonstrative Evidence
Design Principles of Presentation Software
Trial Consulting
Purposes of Trial Consulting
External Validity Testing
Trial Research
Are the Focus Group and Its Results Discoverable?
Use of the Internet for Trial Consulting
Crafting Effective Themes for a Nursing Malpractice Case
Common Defenses
Trial Techniques
Voir Dire
Opening Statement
Witnesses
The Nurse as a Defendant
Closing Argument
Jury Instructions
