MEETINGS & EDUCATION

MEETINGS: Chapter meetings provide a great opportunity to network with other legal nurse consultants.  Meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month from 12 noon to 1pm.  When presentations are planned for CEU credit, we may adjust the meeting times to 11:30am to 1pm to allow for a 90 minute meeting.  Meetings are held in downtown Charleston; the location is rotated among different law firms so that members take turns hosting the meeting.  2008 Meeting Calendar

TO ATTEND: Guests are welcome to attend a meeting prior to deciding to join the chapter.  Lunch is ordered for each meeting, so an RSVP is helpful for planning purposes.  Lunch is provided to guests free of charge for their first meeting. Members pay $10.00 for lunch, and any money left over goes into the treasury.   For more information, or if you plan to attend a meeting, please contact Jama Whittaker, President, or Carol Hart, Chair, Membership Committee.  We will also provide you with directions to the meeting location. 

EDUCATION: The availability of educational opportunities in topics related to legal nurse consulting is one of the many benefits of membership in our chapter.  Monthly meetings may include guest speakers who are invited to lecture on topics of interest to the group.  Members are encouraged to make suggestions for program content and speakers so that programs can be planned accordingly.  Our chapter is approved as a CEU provider by the WV Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nursing, making it easy for members to obtain the credits needed for renewal of their RN license.  Additionally, an annual educational seminar is held.  This seminar is designed to meet the needs of chapter members and attract nurses with an interest in the legal aspects of nursing. 

SEMINARS: Our first educational seminar was held in October 2002.  The seminar "Hot Topics in Medical & Nursing Malpractice" was successful in drawing nurses from around the state with an interest in issues related to medical malpractice and legal nurse consulting.  The seminar was sponsored by the law firms of Steptoe & Johnson, Kay Casto & Chaney, Flaherty Sensabaugh & Bonasso, and Pullin Knopf Fowler & Flanagan.  Cheryl Payton, LNC from Kay Casto & Chaney, coordinated the event as Chair of our Education Committee.  Lectures were given on a variety of topics:  Introduction to Legal Nurse Consulting, Advance Directives and End of Life Issues, Trends in Medical Malpractice, Medical Records Documentation, and Nursing Ethics, Standards, and the Disciplinary Process. Attorneys with expertise in healthcare law and medical malpractice were faculty members for the program.  Speakers were Patrick Kelly, Steptoe & Johnson; Bill Foster, Kay Casto & Chaney; and Kip Reese, Steptoe & Johnson.  Karen Huff, chapter president and LNC from Steptoe & Johnson, was also a speaker. At the request of healthcare professionals attending our first seminar, plans are already underway to offer an annual seminar and expand the program to a full day.  Ideas for future topics include negligent credentialing claims, high risk areas in medical malpractice, toxic torts, product liability, civil rights, employment/labor issues and other areas where LNCs provide support during the litigation process.