Course Information
Overview: This final course in the compliment of advanced practice legal nurse consulting provides for review and further learning related to issues of plaintiff damages, vocational assessments for trial, pain and suffering, ethical issues in litigation, and the use of evidence and exhibits. Students will also study the role of the LNC in trial consulting, trial research, trial techniques and will examine strategies for assisting in voir dire, opening statements, witness questioning and closing arguments. The use of the internet in malpractice case research is also examined. Case examples are studied to allow for greater insights into the role of LNC’s in the trial process. Course Code: ALNC 660. 45 hours of continuing education credit.
Instructor/Course Author: Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D, MBA, RN,BC, LNC-CSp.
Link to Resume
Prerequisite: You must have successfully complete the continuing education course ALNC 600, ALNC 620, and ALNC 640.
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.
Nursing Malpractice (3rd edition). By: Patricia W. Iyer, RN, MSN, LNCC, and Barbara J. Levin. Lawyers & Judges Publishing Co., 2007. ISBN-10# 1933264209.
NOTE: this is a 1,400 page comprehensive textbook. It is the textbook that is used for all (4) of the courses in this continuing education program sequence.
This book now is on a CD-ROM and is in PDF format. For the best price please order directly from the publisher: link to order.
Ordering Information:
This book now is on a CD-ROM and is in PDF format. For the best price please order directly from the publisher: link to order.
You may also call to order this book directly from the publisher:
Phone: 1-800-209-7109
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 45 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your score as “pass” or “fail”. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting and options for completing additional course work to achieve a passing score, will be presented.
BOARD APPROVALS: AIHCP is an approved provider of continuing education by the Florida Board of Nursing and the District of Columbia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975. Access information
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 45 Contact Hours.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
Online Classroom Resources and Tools
* Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
* Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
* Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
* Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
* Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the use of experts in vocational damages cases
2. Identify qualifications for a vocational expert witness
3. Identify common approaches to types of cases regarding vocational damages
4. Identify materials desirable for vocational assessments
5. Discuss elements of damages in vocational cases
6. Define and discuss the role of the forensic economist in nursing malpractice cases
7. Defying qualifications of a nursing forensic economist
8. Discuss ethical dimensions of using an expert economist identify and discuss various dimensions of economic damages in malpractice cases
9. Distinguish between plaintiff and defense strategies and economic evaluations
10. Discuss pain as an element of damages
11. Understand causes and types of pain seen in malpractice cases
12. Identify suffering, including causes, symptoms and treatments.
13. Understand pain-and-suffering issues related to testimonies
14. Develop a pain and suffering report
15. Review and discuss cases related to pain-and-suffering
16. Define and discuss demonstrative evidence
17. Identify evidentiary considerations in a malpractice case
18. Discuss issues regarding trial exhibits and authentication of exhibits
19. Identify and discuss commonly used types of demonstrative evidence in nursing malpractice cases
20. Discuss considerations in selecting an approach to presenting demonstrative evidence
21. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of several presentation systems for demonstrative evidence
22. Discuss design principles of presentation software
23. Define and discuss the role of the trial consultant
24. Define and discuss external validity testing in trial research
25. Identify the phases of trial research and consulting
26. Identify issues related to the selection of an appropriate consultant
27. Discuss the use of the Internet for trial consulting
28. Review and discuss how to develop a theme for a nursing malpractice case
29. Identify and discuss common themes and common defenses in malpractice cases
30. Systematically identify and discuss trial techniques that are used today in malpractice cases
31. Discuss the nurse as a defendant in a malpractice case
32. Identify key points in plaintiff’s summation and defense summation
COURSE CONTENT:
A brief abstract of content:
1.The role of the vocational expert
2. Cases warranting vocational experts
3. Areas of expertise for the vocational expert
4. Materials desirable for vocational assessments
5. Elements of damages related to vocational cases
6. Role of the forensic economist in nursing malpractice
7. Selecting a forensic economist
8. Ethical dimensions of using an expert economist
9. Economic damages
10. Valuation of life care plan costs
11. Plaintiff and defense strategies related to economics
12. Pain as an element of damages
13. Causes of pain, types of pain and treatment issues
14. Causes of suffering
15. Pain-and-suffering testimonies
16. Format for pain and suffering reports
17. Case examples related to pain and suffering cases
18. Pain-and-suffering testimony at trial
19. The courtroom as a classroom
20. Demonstrative evidence
21. Evidentiary considerations
22. Types of trial exhibits
23. Types of demonstrative evidence used in nursing malpractice
24. Considerations in selecting an approach to presenting demonstrative evidence
25. Overview of demonstrative evidence presentation systems
26. Design principles of presentation software
27. Purposes of trial consulting
28. External validity testing and trial research
29. Phases of trial research
30. Using focus groups
31. Use of the Internet for trial consulting
32. Developing themes for nursing malpractice cases
33. Common defenses related to the development of themes for malpractice cases
34. Voir Dire
35. Opening statements in a trial
36. The nurse as defendant in a trial
37. Plaintiff and defense closing arguments
38. Jury instructions