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AALNC SCOPE AND STANDARDS ON LEGAL NURSE CONSULTING AS RN PRACTICE

CHICAGO (April 11, 2006)-The American Nurses Association (ANA) newly adopted Legal Nurse Consulting: Scope and Standards of Practice affirms that legal nurse consultants are indeed practicing nurses, and that legal nurse consulting is recognized as a nursing specialty. This Scope and Standards document has been developed by the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) in collaboration with the ANA and incorporates public comments received from its six-week posting on the ANA Web site.

Lynda Kopishke, president of AALNC, states that "As knowledge-based professionals, legal nurse consultants perform a critical analysis of clinical and administrative nursing practice, healthcare facts and issues, and their outcomes. These analyses are used to improve future healthcare for patients, to advocate for remedies for patients, and to provide education to clients, patients, healthcare providers and the public." By virtue of nursing knowledge - which must remain current - as well as training and experience, the role of a legal nurse consultant must be performed by a registered nurse and is, in fact, a specialized practice within the field of nursing.

In many jurisdictions the state nurse practice act and associated regulatory language have conveyed title protection for the term "nurse." "Nursing - including the specialty of legal nurse consulting - is a knowledge-based profession, and when using that knowledge the legal nurse consultant is indeed practicing the profession of nursing and must maintain an active license as a registered nurse," stresses Kopishke. "We very much appreciate the ANA's willingness to collaborate with us in our goal of ANA recognition of legal nurse consulting as a RN specialty practice." Legal Nurse Consulting: Scope and Standards of Practice will be available for purchase through the AALNC online bookstore in mid-June for a price of $14.50 per copy.

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