LNCC - Legal Nurse Consultant, Certified

The Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC) is offered by the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC), accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC).

The legal world and the medical world often collide. The people generally involved in court cases - lawyers, judges, and jury members - do not usually have the experience to understand medical terminology and best practices. Legal nurse consultants play an important role in the legal process. They ensure that everyone involved has the necessary information to try cases of medical fraud, malpractice, worker’s compensation and personal injury.

Getting certified as a legal nurse consultant (LNCC) shows your colleagues, employers, clients, and everyone involved in the legal process that you are committed to legal nurse consulting and have the skills and knowledge needed to provide accurate and relevant information.

Costs

The application fee for members of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) is $360. For non-members, it’s $495.

The LNCC exam is offered by the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board (ALNCCB). It covers various topics, from analyzing data in medical records, guidelines, and laws to drafting materials for attorneys to collaborating with clients. Content includes questions concerning mostly medical malpractice, personal injury, and long-term care litigation, with a smaller emphasis on product liability, risk management and regulatory compliance. 

The 200-question multiple-choice exam takes about four hours to complete. Questions are in the form of case studies, with a reading passage followed by questions related to the passage.

To sit for the LNCC exam, you must meet the following criteria: 

• Hold a current and unrestricted RN license 

• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a practicing RN

• Complete 2000 hours of legal nurse consulting experience

Activities that qualify towards the 2000 hours of experience must be performed at the request of a client, whether it’s a law firm, hospital, insurance company, or any other agency involved in the legal process. The activities must be related to legal cases or claims where the experience of being a registered nurse is necessary, and they must be considered billable. Examples include: 

• Collecting and reviewing medical records

• Researching relevant health-care-related standards, guidelines, literature, and regulations 

• Communicating with clients, experts, witnesses, and other appropriate parties 

• Talking to clients about case strategies

• Drafting documents to be used as evidence

• Attending or testifying at hearings, trials, depositions, mediations, or interviews 

• Training or supervising other legal nurse consultants

You must apply for the LNCC exam online. After your application is approved, you will receive an email from the AALNCB’s testing partner, PROMTRIC. This email will give you instructions on how to schedule your exam. You can also take the exam through another testing company, IQT. Remote proctoring options are also available.

Exams are offered twice a year, in May (spring) and October (fall).

You receive your scores via email immediately after finishing your exam. If you do not pass, you will receive a breakdown of your subscores to help you better prepare to retake the exam.

An LNCC certification is good for five years from the last day of the month in which you passed the exam. To renew, you must maintain an unrestricted and active RN license and provide documentation of 2000 hours of legal nurse consulting over the previous five-year certification period. 

In addition, you must either pass the LNCC exam again or submit 60 contact hours and pay a renewal fee. The ALNCCB will send information about renewal one year before your certification expires.

Renewal Fees

• AALNC members: $325

• Non-members: $450

The ALNCCB has a detailed handbook available online for applicants covering everything from certification requirements to resources to use to prepare. It also offers a review course and practice exam.

Nurses interested in becoming legal nurse consultants may also want to get a certification in their specialty to increase their knowledge and make themselves more marketable. For example, if you primarily work in pediatrics or labor and delivery, having a certification in those areas as well as an LNCC will make you more of an expert in your field. 

Other related certifications include:

• Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC)

• Advanced Certified Specialist in Legal Nurse Consulting (LNC-ACSp.)