RN considering law school Forum

[Dudemcrocker]

I am a RN who has worked mainly in the OR for the last 10 years. After a couple events that happened to me personally, I was introduced to the world of law (I have a squeaky clean record if that is where your mind went). I have a good career and make decent money as a nurse, but I've always wanted something more. I have dabbled in the supervisory/charge roles, but I find myself relishing the role of the advocate. Some of the things that I've witnessed at different hospitals and the outcomes have bothered me.

I have a couple questions though before I make any life-changing decisions....

1) Is there a decent market out there for nurse attorney or an attorney that specializes in Health Law?

2) My undergrad GPA is 3.28, but my BS was in nursing, which is a pretty difficult major. I also have a Masters in Public Administration. My first practice with the LSAT was 151, but I have plenty of room to grow once I learn logic games (I bombed the analytical part). What are my chances of even getting in if say I were to even raise my LSAT 5 points?

3) One option to keep working while going to law school is the hybrid program that a few schools offer. Are these even worth the paper they are printed on?


Thank you in advance for your time/help with my questions.

[cavalier1138]

1) Is there a decent market out there for nurse attorney or an attorney that specializes in Health Law?

No to the former. But there are plenty of attorneys who specialize in health law. What options you have will depend entirely on where you go to school and how well you perform there. But do you have a more focused idea of your career goals?

2) My undergrad GPA is 3.28, but my BS was in nursing, which is a pretty difficult major. I also have a Masters in Public Administration. My first practice with the LSAT was 151, but I have plenty of room to grow once I learn logic games (I bombed the analytical part). What are my chances of even getting in if say I were to even raise my LSAT 5 points?

Your undergrad GPA (as calculated by LSAC) is the only thing that matters on that front. And you obviously should wait until you have an LSAT score before asking about specific chances. But the question you should be asking isn't whether you would get in to law school. Anyone can go to law school; there are scams all over the country that want your tuition money. The question you should be asking is whether your numbers will get you into a school that will give you a reasonable shot at your career goals and let you manage your debt.

Also, you posted this in the URM forum, so are you a URM? That will affect the numbers game.

3) One option to keep working while going to law school is the hybrid program that a few schools offer. Are these even worth the paper they are printed on?

Depends on the school and the program.

[Dudemcrocker]

Thank you for your response. So, it sounds like I should focus on studying for the LSAT to bump my numbers up (I plan on taking it in October) and come back with updated info to see if I should really pursue? Its going to be top tier or nothing I suppose?

On a side note, I did accidentally post in URM. This is my first post and I managed to screw it up.

[cavalier1138]

Its going to be top tier or nothing I suppose?

That depends on what you want to do. What are your career goals?

[nixy]

Anecdotally, a lot of the medical malpractice attorneys I've seen have had a medical background, and I do think your background could be helpful for working in-house with a health care organization. Re: medical malpractice, defending health care practitioners is probably going to be a little more lucrative/stable than the plaintiffs' side, though certainly both are out there.

You will certainly find some school that will take you, but not all schools are worth it - depends on your goals, their placement stats, and the cost. But if your first practice was 151, you should be able to bring that up pretty significantly (at least 160s, entirely possibly 170+) - the LSAT is a very learnable test.

Whether a hybrid school works for you depends a lot on the school and your goals. I think they're often best for people in related fields who either already have a job lined up for once they get the JD, or for people who will get a boost in their current job for having the degree (I think some insurance or HR jobs work that way - the person may not go on to practice as a lawyer, but the employer values the education enough that they can get promoted on the strength of the JD). I think they're probably not going to be great for someone who has no legal connections at all (not sure if this describes you or not).

[Dudemcrocker]

I want to work in advocacy or policy. I dunno, I figure with my unique background as working as a nurse for 10 years in a hospital may give me some more insight and credibility to some of the other applicants trying to get in.

[nixy]

I want to work in advocacy or policy. I dunno, I figure with my unique background as working as a nurse for 10 years in a hospital may give me some more insight and credibility to some of the other applicants trying to get in.

Admissions is largely about GPA and LSAT; your unique background will matter only at the margins (it would probably give you an edge over a K-JD with the same stats, but won't make you the equivalent of someone with higher stats). It will likely be more pertinent for getting a job after than for getting in.

[cavalier1138]

I want to work in advocacy or policy. I dunno, I figure with my unique background as working as a nurse for 10 years in a hospital may give me some more insight and credibility to some of the other applicants trying to get in.

Admissions is largely about GPA and LSAT; your unique background will matter only at the margins (it would probably give you an edge over a K-JD with the same stats, but won't make you the equivalent of someone with higher stats). It will likely be more pertinent for getting a job after than for getting in.

In addition to what nixy said, you don't need a JD to work in advocacy or policy. Why not put your MPA to use?

[Dudemcrocker]

The MPA has not helped me much. The problem is outside my schooling and internship that I had to do, I have not "real world" experience. I was actually hired for a policy/stats position at a hospital back in 2015 when I graduated with the MPA. The director who hired me left between my hiring and my first day and the new director asked me "what work experience I had." I told her I had none as I just graduated and she told me to go back to being a nurse. That was difficult as I had moved across the country and left a good job to go there. I understand its the nature of the beast, but unfortunately in healthcare, nothing matters unless you have your MBA, MSN, or JD.

The advocacy role I want pertains more to the patients and helping them navigate and fight against some of the mistakes that happen to them and that hospitals are so very good at sweeping up.

[leavingfirm]

You are going to have more money 10 years from now if you continue being a RN than if you don't work for three years of law school then spend several more years paying back debt. Being a lawyer isn't that great. I don't think your nursing experience gives you any advantage at all. You'd also be competing with people 15 years younger than you and you'd have to learn an entirely new profession.

You should look into becoming an expert witness for the nursing field. Expert witnesses make a ton of money and that can scratch your advocacy needs.

[cavalier1138]

The advocacy role I want pertains more to the patients and helping them navigate and fight against some of the mistakes that happen to them and that hospitals are so very good at sweeping up.

So... medical malpractice?

[Dudemcrocker]

Thank you for the advice Leavingfirm. Its not really about the money, and as a matter of fact, you're right, it would be a bad financial decision in the sense of lost wages and the fact that I am compensated quite well as a nurse. I never thought about the role of expert witness and will look into that route.

I appreciate everyone that is pitching into this post. I definitely have a lot to learn and think about with this decision, so everyone's input is great.

I am unsure about medical malpractice. It seems easy to become corrupted in that field, but then again, I am not a lawyer and probably don't have the full picture.

[cavalier1138]

I am unsure about medical malpractice. It seems easy to become corrupted in that field, but then again, I am not a lawyer and probably don't have the full picture.

But what you described is medical malpractice law. There is no such thing as a lawyer that sits with patients and advocates for them before something goes wrong. If that's what you want to do, you want to do policy work, not practice law.

[QContinuum]

I am unsure about medical malpractice. It seems easy to become corrupted in that field, but then again, I am not a lawyer and probably don't have the full picture.

But what you described is medical malpractice law. There is no such thing as a lawyer that sits with patients and advocates for them before something goes wrong. If that's what you want to do, you want to do policy work, not practice law.

Technically, there are lawyers that sit with patients and advocate for them before something goes wrong. These are "family" lawyers who counsel ultra-high-net-worth individuals. But this kind of work is unlikely to be satisfying for OP, as ultra-high-net-worth individuals are usually able to pay hospitals to give them the white-glove treatment, and given their high profile, are probably less likely than other patients, particularly indigent or uneducated patients, to fall victim to medical malpractice.

(Also, obviously, these lawyers for ultra-high-net-worth individuals counsel these individuals on an ongoing basis on all issues - they don't just get called in when their clients fall ill. Most of the routine work pertains to asset management/acquisition/divestiture, estate planning, family law issues and tax minimization.)

[dabigchina]

I'm just an in house drone, but I would assume that finding a UHNW clients is pretty competitive. Definitely not something that I would want to count on getting and would be akin to some of the "unicorn" outcomes that people talk about on this forum as far as difficulty goes.

[nixy]

Nothing the OP said suggests they want to work with UHNW clients, though - they want to help people not get screwed over. I think patient advocates are definitely a thing, but I would imagine they’re usually medical professionals, not lawyers. So I agree that the OP needs to think more about the options out there, but not because they’re looking for a unicorn outcome, more because they’re looking for what is probably not a legal job, but as has already been pointed out, policy work.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Yeah - outside of people (and corporations) who are very wealthy, and can justify spending money on preventing their getting screwed over, lawyers usually only get involved once the screw-over is complete.