San Antonio Chapter of NAHN

Legal Nursing Certification Course

CE Information
24.5 CE credits
Completion Time
23 hours, 9 minutes
Available Until
December 31, 2025
Posted By
PESI
PESI PESI
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Overview

Specialties
Acute Care and Emergency/Trauma
  • Evaluate the prevalence of nursing mistakes, with legal consequences.
  • Analyze common legal pitfalls in nursing practice.
  • Demonstrate the three major areas the plaintiff must prove: existence of duty, breach of duty and injury.
  • Assess documentation samples to avoid litigation and regulatory deficiencies.
  • Distinguish a nurses’ trial appearance and presentation, to contribute beneficially to the case.
  • Appraise strategies to avoid high risk errors related to falls, wounds, abuse … and more.

Learning Objectives

Healthcare Litigation
  • Evolving trends in nursing litigation today
  • The essence of the story behind litigation
  • The burden of proof
  • The expert witness seals the deal. Understand the impact
  • Learn whether you should (or shouldn’t) have your own malpractice coverage

The Components of Documentation
  • Guidelines and interpretation
  • Avoiding mistakes
  • A lawyer’s secret weapon: Time stamping on YOUR documentation
  • Social networking and indirect care
  • Timeline chronology and mapping the case

Electronic Nursing Documentation
  • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  • Meaningful Use
  • Risky electronic documentation practices
  • Charting by exception
  • Dangers of email, social networking, and texting
  • Should you make a late chart entry? Or not …?
  • Avoid the hazards of dropdown boxes in your medical record system

Electronic Medical Record Strategies
  • Time management
  • Liability
  • Software knowledge/Informatics
  • Does the case have merit?

Reimbursement and Documentation
  • Medicare and Medicaid Changes
  • Incentives for participation
  • Hospital Acquired Conditions
Elements of a Lawsuit
  • Plaintiff complaints
  • Medical record review
  • Timeline chronology
  • Evidence
  • Plaintiff deposition testimony

Documentation When Things Go Wrong
  • Compliance
  • Unsafe processes
  • Regulations
  • Incident reporting
  • Adverse events and risk factors
  • When to ask/demand help from a supervisor
  • When the patient must transfer out
  • Standards that are within standards
  • Deviations, real or perceived
  • Errors of omission and commission
  • Communicating clearly
  • Defense deposition testimony

Avoiding Risky Documentation
  • Credible evidence
  • Avoiding ambiguity
  • Recording events objectively
  • Late entries and correcting errors

What if the Worst Happens?
  • Duty/Breach of Duty
  • Nurse Practice Act
  • State Board of Nursing
  • Depositions

Speakers

Brenda Elliff
Brenda Elliff RN, MPA, ONC, CCM, LNCC

Brenda Elliff, RN, MPA, ONC, CCM, LNCC, established Elliff Medical-Legal Services in 1996. As a legal nurse consultant, she assists on both plaintiff and defense cases. She performs record reviews, develops strategies and provides expert witness preparation. Her work involves Medical Malpractice, Worker’s Compensation, Personal Injury and a variety of legal cases. Previously, Brenda worked as a Health Care Coordinator for a large law firm and taught a Legal Nurse Consultation review course. Initially she began working with attorneys on legal cases in California and has now expanded her scope throughout the Pacific NW. Her clinical nursing experiences are vast and span 40 years. Brenda has worked as a staff nurse, as a nurse manager at major teaching facilities, as nurse case manager and as an adjunct nursing professor. Past nurses who have attended Brenda’s programs have appreciated the dynamic and fun way in which she can deliver excellent clinical and legal information. She has been a sought-after speaker at national, state and local levels, on a variety of topics that draw from her areas of expertise.

Rachel Henderson
Rachel Henderson PhD, MS, LHRM, CCRN-K

Keynote | Women's Conferences | Inspirational | Past Pres. Florida Speakers Association

Rachel Henderson, PhD, MS, LHRM, CCRN-K, has nearly three decades of clinical, management and consulting experience. Rachel is a legal nurse consultant certified (LNCC), a licensed healthcare risk manager (LHRM) and she holds a forensic nurse certificate (FNC). As a legal nurse consultant, Rachel works with attorneys, law firms and healthcare organizations to review and evaluate medical records for compliance with standards of care and regulations posed by accreditation agencies, including The Joint Commission. In addition to her legal insights, Rachel draws from vast clinical experiences, including work in: critical care, renal transplant, dialysis and surgical settings.

CE Information

This activity offers 24.5 CE credits to attendees.


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