Legal Nurse Consultant Sheds Light on Unique Role
Monday September 7, 2009
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Kathy McGinn, RN
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Kathy McGinn, RN, BSN, LNC, senior legal nurse at Sokolove Law LLC in Newton, Mass., was that nurse. She has worked in the field of legal nurse consulting since 1990, and has been an RN for 25 years. Known as the “legal birth nurse,” McGinn is making a difference among parents who need legal help for their children’s situations.
McGinn helped establish a nurse desk — open seven days a week — comprised of six nurses who answer calls from parents, grandparents, and guardians of children involved in medical malpractice cases. She trains and educates these legal nurse consultants to answer and respond to legal calls and guide parents through what can be an emotional, overwhelming process. “There are lots of injured children and lots of questions about what happened,” McGinn says. “We have nurses on the front lines directing and providing resources to get these people in the right skilled hands.”
Emphasizing that legal consulting is a beneficial career for RNs, McGinn says she wants people to realize being an LNC is not just an administrative position; LNCs are involved with people. The position requires solid communication and nursing skills applied in a new way, she said. “It satisfies the side of us that is, and always will be, patient advocacy,” she says.
Andrea Scott was a summer intern at Gannett Healthcare Group. To comment, e-mail editorNY@nursingspectrum.com.
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