Who could question any MD’s intellectual ability to review a medical record? But physicians do not think like nurses. In hospitals, they assess medical conditions; listen to the observations of support personnel, order the care they believe is appropriate, and move on to the next patient. If all errors arose from the wrong order or a misdiagnosis, [...]

A nurse’s comment on last week’s blog prompted this week’s content. She asked me how an attorney could be impressed by her writing style if she had never submitted a report for his review. The reality is that others form opinions of us with the first contact that occurs, whether that is through verbal or [...]

It is true. These are legal nurse consultants, working at the limits of their physical capacity, and never complaining about aches, pains or the horrible nausea from chemotherapy. I have known some LNC ‘s for years before they told me they had cancer or Crohn’s or a debilitating orthopedic condition. I am fortunate to be [...]

It is Friday.  Your phone rings at 3 pm and a desperate attorney needs an expert by Monday morning.  In reality, he identified the need for an expert weeks ago, but the search was postponed in hopes of mediation or a settlement that did not occur. Or.  Your own deadline is looming and you know [...]

I have always heard that clich

As practicing nurses, we take care of the sick, observe them for declines in condition, and rectify the wrongs done by others as a matter of course.  If we put our patients first on a busy shift, our hands are literally full – too full, sometimes, to pick up a pen and document the care [...]