I wanted to be an attorney, not a nurse, however, my life went a different direction during my college years. My father encouraged me to apply for nursing school from the time I was in sixth grade. I turned in my application, in essence, to satisfy him. Then I was accepted into nursing school during my freshman year when I had senior friends that continued to wait. My intention was to obtain my two-year nursing degree and use nursing to pay for law school. By the time I was in my third semester I had decided I wanted my advanced nursing degree. Almost thirteen years later I learned how I could create my dream job as a legal nurse consultant.
In 2007, I learned about the role of the legal nurse consultant (LNC). I already had more than 15 years of nursing experience in a wide variety of nursing specialties. Also, more than five years working as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) in a variety of roles (education, family practice, emergency medicine and more). It became evident to me that I could combine my earlier interest in law, with my current nursing role. However, the timing was not right to pursue legal nurse consulting; but the exciting possibility never left my mind.
The dream resurfaced in 2012 when my husband and I started looking into different scenarios that would lead to scheduling freedom as we looked to expand our family. We spent quite a bit of time researching different programs and, alas, decided the timing was again not ideal.
In 2014, everything would align. I received a call from a colleague. He is the owner of Schwartz Associates, a legal nurse consulting business based in Portland, Oregon. He needed a family nurse practitioner expert witness. At the time, he didn’t realize he was helping me create my dream job as a legal nurse consultant.
Two years later, I remain an independent contractor for Schwartz Associates and continue expanding my role in the profession. He built a solid practice, of which I am proud to be a part.
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