Salary of a Nursing Risk Management Consultant
Health care facilities are exposed to much risk while treating patients. Health care organizations attempt to offset this risk by hiring risk management and legal consultants to develop quality improvement programs and defense strategies that support the prevention and reduction of risk. Risk management professionals in a health care setting often have both a legal and medical background. Licensed practical nurses and registered nurses, for example, are often hired as risk management consultants. These professionals can be health care facility employees or may work independently. Depending on their overall responsibilities, nursing risk management consultants earn considerable wages.
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Average Earnings
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According to the University of Florida Health Care Risk Management salary survey, risk management consultants earn median annual wages of $80,000. Earnings vary by industry and employer. Nursing risk management consultants work in a variety of areas including doctors' offices, nursing homes, hospitals and managed care facilities. In these establishments, consultants handle tasks related to state and local health care laws as well as malpractice insurance and health care related legal claims.
Legal Nurse
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A legal nurse consultant has responsibilities very similar to nursing risk management consultants. Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who provide expert knowledge to attorneys, insurance agencies and private organizations that need assistance with health related legal issues. Similar to nursing risk management consultants, legal nurse consultants mitigate their clients' risks by evaluating health care policies, medical documents and patient testimonies. They analyze how this information coincides with the legal issues facing the organization. Legal nurses often work independently or on a contract basis. According to the Legal Nurse Consulting Institute, consultants earn fees of $125 to $150 per hour.
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General Nursing Earnings
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Nurses who do not have risk management responsibilities perform typical nursing duties such as treat patients, perform tests, administer medication and record patient histories. Licensed practical nurses and registered nurses work in clinical settings and do not perform many administrative tasks. The earnings of LPNs and RNs are less overall than nursing risk management consultants because they do not have the specialized training required for the consulting position. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, licensed practical nurses earned an average of $40,380 annually as of May 2010. Registered nurses earned an average of $64,690 as of May 2010 according to the BLS.
Risk Management Education
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Aside from the medical training required to obtain licensing as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, nursing consultants also acquire training in health care risk management. The training is designed to educate nurses on how to assess risk as well as how to minimize the facility's exposure to risk. The American Nurses Association offers a nursing risk management education series that help nurses develop the knowledge and skills to improve quality management in the health care setting. Nurses may also obtain independent risk management certification from organizations such as the International Association of Risk and Compliance Professionals to gain additional risk-management knowledge and training.
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References
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