AALNC's Certification Board
Position Statement: Certification in Legal Nurse Consulting
Summary:
The purpose of this position statement is to define
and clarify the role of certification for
legal nurse consultants and to establish the Legal Nurse
Consultant Certified® (LNCC®)
program (1) as the premier certification in this specialty.
Introduction:
As a nursing specialty recognized by the American
Nurses Association (ANA), it is vital
that legal nurse consultants (LNCs) have a pathway to certification
which incorporates
experiential and educational requirements. The LNCC program
is the only certification
examination in the field endorsed by the American Association
of Legal Nurse
Consultants (AALNC) and accredited by the American Board
of Nursing Specialties
(ABNS).
Background & Discussion:
Established in 1997 by AALNC, the American Legal
Nurse Consultant Certification
Board (ALNCCB) is responsible for developing and maintaining
a certification program
in legal nurse consulting.
As part of the decision to
offer a high-quality certification program, ALNCCB sought
accreditation by an outside body and selected ABNS as the
most appropriate accreditor.
ABNS is an advocate for consumer
protection, and is the only accrediting body
specifically for nursing certification. ABNS provides a
peer-review mechanism that
allows nursing certification organizations to obtain accreditation
by demonstrating
compliance with established ABNS standards.
ALNCCB maintains the only certification
in legal nurse consulting accredited by ABNS
and endorsed by AALNC. The LNCC program was initially accredited
in 1999 and
reaccredited in 2004. Accreditation distinguishes the LNCC
Program within the field of
legal nurse consulting and equates the LNCC credential with
credentials from other
highly respected programs.
ALNCCB endorses the definition
of certification adopted by ABNS:
Certification is the formal recognition
of the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated
by the achievement of standards
identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health
outcomes. (ABNS, 2005)
A certification program helps
advance the profession, and is one of the required elements
for recognition as a nursing specialty. AALNC achieved this
milestone in 2006 when the
ANA officially recognized legal nurse consulting as a specialty
practice of nursing.
AALNC, in collaboration with the ANA, published Legal
Nurse Consulting Scope &
Standards of Practice. In this document, the authors
note:
Participation in the specialty’s certification
processdemonstrates a level of professionalism and commitment,
and allows community recognition of those legal nurse consultants
who have achieved a higher level of skill and expertise
within the specialty. (ANA, 2006)
While RN licensure ensures
entry-level competency, certification is the gold standard
for
demonstrating knowledge and experience in specialty practice.
Similar to physician
board certification, nursing specialty certification is
not achieved at entry into practice.
The ABNS Position Statement on the Value of Certification
addresses the issue of
certification as a standard beyond licensure, noting that:
While state licensure provides the legal authority
for anindividual to practice professional nursing, privatevoluntary
certification is obtained through individual specialty nursing
certifying organizations and reflects achievement of a standard
beyond licensure for specialty nursing practice. (ABNS,
2005)
The value of certification
also extends to the public. According to ABNS,
The increasingly complex patient/client needs
within the current healthcare delivery system are best met
when registered nurses, certified in specialty practice,
provide nursing care. (ABNS, 2005)
This statement applies to traditional
nursing roles as well as legal nurse consulting
practice. Similar to certified nurses in other specialties,
LNCCs, by virtue of their
knowledge and experience in the specialty, can more readily
meet the needs of their
client than the novice practitioner.
Certification is a commitment
that begins at entry into the specialty and continues
throughout a nurse’s career. Although voluntary, certification
allows nursing specialties—including Legal
Nurse Consulting—to publicly acknowledge a member’s
level of experience, judgment, and knowledge. LNCs should
commit to building their
competency in the field, with a goal of sitting for the
LNCC examination.
Conclusion:
The LNCC® program is designed to promote a level of
expertise and professionalism by
documenting individual performance as measured against a
predetermined level of
knowledge in legal nurse consulting; however it is not intended
to determine who is
qualified or who shall engage in legal nurse consulting.
The LNCC® credential allows
the public to more readily identify legal nurse consultants
who have demonstrated a high
level of experience, expertise, and commitment to this specialty
nursing practice.
Legal
nurse consultants who wish to distinguish themselves in
the profession should seek voluntary certification as an
LNCC®. As the only practice-based certification program
that meets national testing standards, the LNCC® is
comparable to board certification in other nursing specialties.
In addition to the personal satisfaction that comes with
certification, LNCs who invest their time in achieving and
maintaining LNCC®
certification can be comfortable in the knowledge that they
have achieved a credential
that has met or exceeded ABNS requirements, and is the gold
standard for certification in
the specialty.
It
is the position of the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification
Board that
1.
Certification is an objective measure of professional knowledge.
It
demonstrates to the public that an individual has met national
testing
standards, and has achieved a level of expertise in the
specialty.
2.
Certification in Legal Nurse Consulting is based on experience
and
knowledge, and is not achieved at entry into the specialty.
3.
The Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC®) is the
premier
certification credential for legal nurse consultants; the
only certification
program accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialties.
Footnotes:
1 The LNCC®
program is the collective term for all components of the
certification process, including policies related to test
development, certification, and recertification.
References:
Iyer, P.W. (Ed.). (2003). Legal
Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice (2nd ed.).
Boca
Raton: CRC Press.
American
Board of Nursing Specialties. (March 5, 2005). A position
statement on the
value of specialty nursing certification. Retrieved
July 11, 2006 from
http://www.nursingcertification.org/position_statements.htm.
American
Board of Nursing Specialties. (2006). ABNS value of
certification survey
executive summary. Aurora, OH: American Board of Nursing
Specialties.
American
Nurses Association and American Association of Legal Nurse
Consultants.
(2006). Scope and Standards of Practice for Legal Nurse
Consultants. Silver Spring,
MD: Nursesbooks.org.
Approved
by the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board
November 2006
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