As you know, we are in the midst of our 2014 membership drive. Our Director of Education, Headquarters Staff, Board of Directors and other volunteer leaders and committee members have been working very hard the past few years to provide you with new high quality educational resources and networking opportunities to assist you in your LNC practice.

 

For 2014 we have increased member benefits and widened the price gap of our educational resources for members vs non-members. AALNC exists solely for the purpose of educating LNCs and advancing our specialty practice within the legal, medical and insurance communities. Please consider supporting our efforts by renewing your membership or becoming a new member and volunteering your time.

 

Recently I received the wonderful email below from Barbara Hampe, one of AALNC’s founding members. I am sharing it with you (with permission) because I hope it will inspire everyone to get involved in some way in AALNC. I cannot say it any better!

 

Best wishes for a peaceful and joyful holiday season!

 

Beth

 

From: barbara hampe

Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2013 12:43 PM

To: Elizabeth K Zorn

Subject: AALNC

 

I am one of the original steering committee members of AALNC and former treasurer.

 

I want to take a moment and let all know how proud I am of AALNC members.  What a wonderful job everyone has done in developing an association that is so well respected. 

 

AALNC is such a great example of what a small core of people can do that effects change.  I encourage every member to take a step forward, stand by their convictions and passions and give their talents back to AALNC.   

 

 

Cordially,

Barbara Hampe

Hello everyone!

 

I thought I would provide some sort of “first quarter” update regarding AALNC’s board/management company activities since the forum in April. It’s a bit lengthy so bear with me. The good news is that we have a lot going on!

 

Monthly member update: We initiated a new segment in our monthly update to members entitled “Your questions, answered.” Each month we select a topic from questions posed by our members from various sources (surveys, educational evaluations, etc.)

 

New member email: All new members (and any member renewing for 2014) will received a lengthy introductory welcome email with links to various pages on our website that may be of interest. Please look for this when you renew later this year and let us have your feedback!

 

Legal Corner: We have initiated a new section on our website where members can find legal cases of interest to LNCs.

 

Chapters: We have been working hard to support local chapters. Since April, we have had two national DAL calls for chapter leaders led by our DALs: Debbie Pritts, Mary Sussex and Varsha Desai. In addition, we invested in a chapter membership online tool which gives Chapter leaders access to current information about new AALNC members in their state. We are planning a webinar for chapters regarding how to use webinar technology to close the geographical gap with their members/prospective members. Finally, we sent a recent survey to chapters to inquire about their interest in a two tiered national membership dues structure.

 

Webinars: We have maintained a busy webinar schedule, including the LNCC review course, our series of free informational webinars for nurses just starting out in the LNC field, and our regular monthly webinars. The topics chosen for our regular webinar series are based upon feedback from our members as to which topics are of interest to them. Anyone who purchases a webinar but is unable to attend, automatically receives a link to view the recorded webinar after the fact. And, we have extended the time frame for learners to access recorded webinars for CE credit from 1.5 weeks to 3 weeks.

 

LNCC Review Course: The first webinar from this series is now online and available for purchase. The remaining webinars in the series will be put online in the coming weeks.

 

Revised LNC Online Course: The first seven modules are beginning the peer review process and should be ready for purchase in mid 2014. We will shortly begin work on the 2^nd year online course modules.

 

2014 Forum: The schedule for next year’s Forum in Denver is almost complete and looks terrific. We are also in the process of selecting a Forum site for 2015.

 

Exhibiting: I exhibited for AALNC at the Critical Care Nursing Conference in Boston in May and Kathy Ferrell will be exhibiting for AALNC at the ENA conference in Nashville, TN.

 

Outreach to the legal community: We are advertising the revamped LNC Locator to various attorney groups, who appear to be increasingly using this resource to locate nurse expert witnesses and behind the scenes consultants. We are also making inroads into select legal associations to raise awareness of legal nurse consulting: Sharon McQuown has been appointed for a second term as Vice Chair of the ABA’s Nursing and Allied Healthcare Professionals Task Force. Julie Dickinson is serving on two DRI Committees: The ALF/SNF Steering Committee and the Medical Liability & Health Care Law Seminar Steering Committee.

 

Budget Development: Our Finance Committee has begun the multiple meeting process of putting together a proposed budget for 2014, which will be finalized at our in-person board meeting in Chicago at the end of this month. Consistent with good practice, our goal is to maintain an amount of no less than 50% of our operating budget in reserves while also reinvesting in initiatives (such as the revamped online course) that will grow the association.

 

Committees: Last, but not least, I would like to thank Pat Davis (our Director of Programs) and all the volunteers serving on our very productive AALNC committees, including the Forum, Research, Webinar, Products & Services, Core Competencies, Journal Editorial Board, and ALNCCB.

 

I feel very good about the direction and accomplishments of AALNC, none of which would be possible without the many LNCs who volunteer their precious time for the good of our specialty practice.

 

Beth

AALNC President's Blog Post

Hello to all and Happy July 4^th!

 

In my last blog entry I promised to share with you the details of two of my top priorities during my term as president.

 

Revision of AALNC’s Online LNC Course: We are in the process of revising and expanding our existing online LNC course. The new modules will be rolled out over the next three years. We are working on the first seven modules, which will be rolled out around the time of the forum next year. As we roll out the new modules, the old modules will be retired. LNCs who purchase the new modules will have access to a large volume of medical records and other documents from actual legal cases that have been resolved. We are also working with a master’s prepared project manager from Smith Bucklin who is assisting us to utilize the latest computer technology in online learning. We will also be retaining a professional narrator to read the script for each of the modules.

 

The content for the new modules is being written by highly experienced LNCs, including the co-editors of the new online course  -  Sharon McQuown, Karen Huff, Julie Dickinson and me. And of course, Pat Davis, our Director of Educational Programs is very involved in this project, as are other Board members. We are very excited about the quality of this future educational offering and look forward to the roll out of phase one next year!

 

Revision of Scope and Standards of Practice/Core Competencies: The BOD has revised our definition of legal nurse consulting (see below) so that it more clearly reflects what we do as legal nurses.  We also have a very dynamic task force which is revising our standards of practice and core competencies with the same goal in mind. In addition, we will be adding “behavioral expectations” based on our LNC practice analysis which will set forth the unique tasks and expectations of our speciality practice.

 

AALNC’s Revised Definition of Legal Nurse Consulting

 

Legal nurse consulting:

 

·         Is the application of knowledge acquired during the course of professional nursing education, training, and clinical experience to the evaluation of standard of care, causation, damages and other medically  related issues in cases or claims.

 

·         Is the application of additional knowledge acquired through education and experience regarding applicable legal standards and/or strategy to the evaluation of cases or claims.

 

·         Involves critical analysis of healthcare records and medical literature, as well as relevant legal documents and other information pertinent to the evaluation and resolution of cases or claims.

 

·         Results in the development of case-specific work products and opinions for use by legal professionals or agencies handling cases or claims.

 Warmly, Beth

elzorn@faraci.com

 

May 27, 2013

 

May has been a very busy month at AALNC! We had a great response from members interested in volunteering and as a result, our Forum, Webinar, Products and Research committees are in full swing. The LNCC review course series has been very well received and we are in the process of putting these sessions online so they can be viewed 24/7.

 

This past week I exhibited for AALNC at the Critical Care Nursing Conference in Boston, which was attended by 8000 critical care nurses, many of whom stopped by our booth for information and literature about legal nurse consulting.

 

We have also been reviewing attendee feedback from our annual forum in April as well as the recent Needs Assessment survey. The Board will be responding to a list of  commonly asked questions/suggestions and providing these responses to our members. We will also keep you up to date regarding AALNC’s overall financials.

 

As I mentioned in my first blog post, in the coming weeks, I plan to share with you in some detail the nature of the significant work being done by the board members, our other volunteer leaders and our Director of Programs to promote AALNC’s mission and strategic plan, which was completely revised over a 2 day board meeting in January 2012. Below my signature line are AALNC’s mission statement and revised high level strategic goals.

 

In my next blog, I will share with you details regarding two of our top priorities for this next year, including revision of the Standards of Practice/Core Competencies and the new online LNC course.

 

It is a beautiful holiday in the northeast today! Wishing everyone a good day, as we remember with deep appreciation those who serve our country. May we never forget their sacrifices.

 

Beth Zorn (elzorn@faraci.com)

 

Mission Statement

 

The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants promotes the professional advancement of registered nurses consulting within the legal arena by providing a forum for education, research and exchange of information.

 

Strategic Goals

 

AALNC will position itself as the leader in the specialty practice of legal nurse consulting by setting education standards and metrics, by being the voice of the legal nurse consulting community, by conducting research related to LNC practice and by improving visibility to the clinical nursing community.

 

AALNC will create awareness of legal nurse consulting within the legal community by aligning key communications, programs and features with the needs of LNC employers and by developing partnerships that are strategic and a major leverage of AALNC assets.

 

AALNC will maintain a sound business model by using revenue generated from membership, educational programing, and other budget programs to develop and offer high-quality, innovative, competitively-priced educational products as well as other value-driven benefits and resources for legal nurse consultants.

 

As incoming president, I want to thank Sharon for her extraordinary service to AALNC, including being willing to serve an unprecedented second year as president so I could spend a year in the president-elect role, “learning the ropes.”

 I also want to thank our outgoing board members Marianne Hallas and Karen Huff, who both served consecutive terms on ALNCCB and then AALNC’s board of directors, for a combined service of more than 20 years in board roles! Fortunately for us, they have both agreed to remain involved in several AALNC initiatives.

 It is my first hand observation since coming on the board in 2010 that our association has thrived under both Karen and Sharon’s leadership, along with a cohesive, hardworking and dynamic board of directors, and very effective management company.

 As Sharon mentioned in her final blog, our annual forum in Chicago was a great success.  We will be analyzing all the feedback we receive in the coming weeks to make future forums even better, so for those of you who attended the forum, please take the time to submit your evaluations forms.

 Many thanks to the Chicago chapter who hosted this year’s forum. Their president, Dina Morgan, and many of the chapter members worked very hard this past year with our forum committee to plan several aspects of this event and of course, made special efforts to attend the forum and man the host chapter table during the forum. We greatly appreciate your efforts.

 Finally, a special thanks to the multiple former AALNC presidents who attended and/or spoke at the forum. Your continued involvement in AALNC is deeply appreciated and I think, demonstrates your ongoing commitment to AALNC and our specialty practice!

 Over the next few weeks, I plan to use this blog to share with you a bit of detail regarding AALNC’s strategic plan and our priorities this next year.

  I look forward to working with the board and our members this next year, and beyond.

 All for now.

 Beth (elzorn@faraci.com)

A FINAL THANK YOU

It is time as the dust settles from our fantastic Forum of 2013 to turn over the blog reins to your new President, Beth Zorn. It has been an amazing two years as your president. The members have been most gracious with their kind words. I have been especially touch by all of you who reached out to me after my various presentations about my photos and my legacy as an Ursuline graduate. I have tried to share myself to you so you knew my focus and beliefs. As you know, Ursuline's motto is "Serviam" and I have tried my best to serve others for as long as I can remember. I am richer in friendships and experiences as a result of taking those opportunities. The organization is in very good hands and I will remain on the Board one additional year. I hope the business meeting reflected our increased financial vitality and the positive feedback of all of our educational offerings. We will continue to work on other areas we discussed at our meeting: core competencies, membership and chapters. We have had so many positive highpoint this year: ANCC accreditation, increased reserves, excelling in educational offerings and others reflected in my past blogs. I am one person representing the members and a very hard working BOD this last two years. I thank my BOD, our partnership with SmithBucklin and our staff members.  It has been an enriching experience that can be yours IF you chose to accept ..the opportunity. I humbly thank you. Beth the reins are yours and I know the organization will continue to flourish!  Sharon      smcquown@flbranson.com.

FORUM SUCCESS April 2013

To all of those able to attend thank you for making this such a great conference. We were very close to a sell out, which is equivalent to financial success. Our keynote speaker Liz Jazwiec was excellent and attendees were talking about her the next day, yes Liz positively! We had some terrific vendors present who support our organization and we thank them as well. Our optional offerings for CEU's were well received and attended. What are your suggestions for topics for next year?? We need to hear from you-please email me with your thoughts. Chicago is a great city and the historically significant Palmer House was a great location. Our topics covered infection, nerve injury, toxicology, Daubert challenges, product liability litigation, brain injury and correctional medicine all in day one. The ALNCCB reviewed the practice analysis that leads to our creation of the certification testing--very interesting. We completed day two with lectures on demonstrative evidence, school nurse liability, writing a concise report, medicare set asides and nurse practitioner liability. We hope you will calendar next year's Forum in Denver, Colorado on April 4-5, 2014.  Thank you for the Forum's committee hard work this year and we will have another great year as Jeannie Autry turns over the Chair duties to Cyndi Maag. We shared our financial status at our business meeting and I gave my final State of the Association report. I will cover those topics in a separate blog before I sign off and turn this over to Beth Zorn your new President for 2013-2014. Thanks as always for the very kind reception I was given and your support over the last two years from the Forum attendees. 
Sharon      smcquown@flbranson.com.

Spring, Forum and Transitions

We are nearing our annual Forum start date in early April at the Palmer Hotel in Chicago. I hope you will take advantage of the offerings our Forum Committee has worked so diligently on, for your benefit! Are you new to the field and want to just sit down and and talk to someone more experienced? There is no better selection of networking opportunities than here. The President's reception is open to ALL attendees to met the leadership and fellow participants on Thursday night. I am completing my two year term and look forward to meeting you as I transition to the past president role. Have you checked the Friday lunch network event? Later that evening is our optional event-10 minutes from our hotel. Tavern on the Park will be a causal, relaxed time to meet and greet, perhaps consider a volunteer role and make those connections. Thank you to the Forum committee and the efforts each of them has lent to our organization! The Forum is only one of the areas we are working on currently. Your BOD (board of directors) will have their meeting Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning with a diverse amount of topics discussed including social media, our Journal, educational updates from our Director of Programs, as well as a review of our strategic plan and financial update. All this before the Forum begins! Our organization is in a healthy place and is a direct result of the strategic decisions made by the board you elected and our partnership with SmithBucklin-our management team. Thank you to David Schmahl, Kevin, Kristin and the rest of our SB team. We have succeeded in reaching many accomplishments this year a few of which include ANCC accreditation, a strong partnership with the AALNCB (the certification board) and revising our committee structure. I must also thank Karen Huff our past president and Marianne Hallas our DAL. Both agreed to stay in their positions and extra year to assist us with transitioning our BOD. They deserve recognition for sharing their skill set with us, just a little longer. I will share more in my talk on site and hope to post it here as well for those of you unable to attend. I look forward to Chicago and hope you feel this BOD have been the good stewards you expected for YOUR organization. Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any questions. Sharon  smcquown@flbranson.com.

2013-HERE WE GO!

A delayed Happy New Year must mean we are at full speed working for your organization. So you wonder what is the latest news we can share? Outstanding accomplishments include the completion of the ANCC accreditation ... a success. Our webinar series for the LNCC certification has been very well received with two sessions already completed and 1 for each remaining month of the year. The Forum for 2013 in Chicago is going very well with our registration numbers-remember we have sold out the last two years! I hope to see many of you there in person. We will be exhibiting at NTI, the Critical Care Nurses conference in Boston May 21-23. This is an ongoing part of our awareness initiative to collaborate with other nursing specialties. There has been a continued effort to revise the Scope & Standards as well as create our Core Competencies in a meaningful format for you. We are revising our On Line Course to better serve you with tasks, assignments and updated material. You will be seeing our Willingness to Serve form in the near future. This gives you the opportunity to consider giving of yourself for the betterment of the organization. Where does your interest take you: research, journal writing, educational products, publications, standards- a few of the opportunities that exist. Every day I am asked the question how do I make contact and become more involved? Volunteering helps the organization and yourself. If you are seeking work as an LNC this is an excellent way to have exposure to others who may need your services. We are already looking forward to the 2014 Forum!  The location will be announced on site in Chicago. How about sharing your wealth of knowledge and consider speaking at the Forum? The energy from the audience is a great feeling as you share your expertise. Perhaps you know of a speaker that we should know about? Let us know and our dynamic Forum committee will follow up on your suggestions. I am always available for questions and suggestions. Thank you for allowing me to serve you as President.
Sharon smcquown@flbranson.com.