📚 Teaching Moment: “Am I Missing Records?” (Chronology Review) Student Question “I was reviewing the Dropbox files and don’t see ER or Ortho records. Am I missing something?” The Reality You Must Understand First: Attorneys are not medical professionals. They are not trained to: - Organize medical records correctly - Identify what type of record belongs where - Recognize when something is mislabeled or missing An attorney may genuinely believe: - ER records = PT records - Ortho notes = general follow-ups - Everything important is already included And they’re not doing anything wrong… they just don’t know. The Biggest Mistake You Can Make Assuming something is missing without personally verifying every single file. This leads to two very real problems: You build your case on incomplete information - You create your chronology - You start forming opinions - Then later… you find the missing record - Your entire opinion may need to change You never find it—but opposing counsel does - You go into deposition confident - Opposing counsel pulls out a record you missed - Your credibility is immediately questioned This happens more often than you think. Critical Skill: Never Trust File Labels Files are often: - Misnamed - Misfiled - Combined incorrectly Example:A file labeled “Physical Therapy” might actually contain: - ER records - Physician notes - Imaging If you don’t open it… you don’t know. Advanced Insight Most Nurses Miss “I don’t need to review billing records” FALSE. Some of the most important findings can be hidden in: - Billing summaries - Charge sheets - Line-item entries What you might find: - A procedure with no physician note - A treatment that was never documented elsewhere - A single line entry that changes the entire case I have personally found case-changing details buried in billing. Adopt This Mindset Assume something is missing or hidden—always. Not because anyone is intentionally doing something wrong (although sometimes they are), but because:

Welcome to the Free Legal Forensic Nurse Community! Hi and welcome! We're so glad you’re here! If you found your way into this space, there is a good chance you are a nurse who knows deep down there has to be more than burnout, bedside chaos, and feeling like your experience is being underused. This community was created for nurses who are curious about legal forensic nursing, legal nurse consulting, medical record review, remote nurse careers, and what it really looks like to use your nursing brain in a different way. Start Here | Be sure to check out our YouTube channel, Certified Legal Forensic Nurse, and Jan Marie’s books on Amazon if you want to keep learning outside of this group too. That is a great place to start if you are brand new and trying to understand what this field is, how it works, and why so many nurses are drawn to it. YouTube Channel | https://www.youtube.com/@certifiedlegalforensicnurse Full of trainings and student testimonials. Published Books | https://a.co/d/07t39wGE Legal Nursing for the Defense on Amazon https://a.co/d/0c6dqJHy CRUSH IT - The Nurses Blueprint for Legal Nurse Success (Audible version is outdates, so be sure to only purchase the paperback book, and not the audio). Who is Jan Marie? Jan Marie is a registered nurse, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of a training program built for nurses who want to step into the legal world in a powerful, strategic, behind-the-scenes role. But this community was not created just to talk about another nurse side hustle or recycle the same information that has been floating around for years. Jan Marie created this space because when she stepped into this world back in 2009, she saw a huge gap. She saw nurses being introduced to legal work in a very limited way. They were being taught the surface.They were being taught general concepts.They were being taught how to look at records.