Enhancing Vocational Training with Legal Writing Skills
Many community colleges and post-secondary institutions offer vocational courses, including many in the area of medicine. A vocational course is often short, lasting a few months up to a year, and includes classroom instruction, laboratory studies, and clinical or field experiences. Vocational course students may be studying for careers such as nursing, emergency medicine, physical therapy, medical office management, pharmacy, and more. But regardless of the field, legal writing skills are useful in even the most basic clinical or technical responsibilities.
A legal writing skill that can greatly aid medical staff is the comprehensive brief answer legal memo, also known as a BCLM. This type of writing is ideal for communicating straightforward information quickly and succinctly. A brief answer legal memo must state all essential facts and legal issues relevant to a medical matter in a clear and concise manner. A concise legal written communication is advantageous in a medical setting where time and space is often limited.
In the case of medical staff, a brief answer legal memo could be crucial for documenting or describing patient information. A BCLM may be the ideal approach for reporting a patient’s condition. Or, if asked for an assessment of a patient, the candidate could give the inquirer a full picture without being overwhelmed by details. The task would require the ability to convey the essential information in a logical fashion.
A brief answer legal memo can also be useful for a medical professional faced with a medical functionality, for example, whether a surgeon is able to perform a procedure safely. This information may be requested during a timesensitive situation, for example while the surgeon is preparing to perform an operation. In the heat of the moment, possessing the ability to give the other party all the needed information without unnecessary words could make a major difference in whether the procedure is successfully performed.
A brief answer legal memo is not just about concise legal writing – it is also about precise communication. The writing must be to the point and devoid of fluff language without sacrificing legal clarity. In the medical setting, this means the candidate must communicate in a way that is understandable to someone in a non-medical field but still meets the legal requirements, such as:
- Clear identification of the legal issue
- Relevant facts presented succinctly
- Logical organization of information
All of these requirements are important for medical professionals regardless of their specialty. Therefore, a vocational training course can benefit from teaching legal writing skills, including the brief answer legal memo. In addition to writing and requesting medical opinions and reviews, staff in medical facilities must constantly share information with others, including coworkers and patients, and they are in contact with a wide array of professionals and patients each day. Being able to relay important information in a concise, understandable manner is beneficial to everyone.
Skillful legal writing clearly has significant benefits in many fields. A school can see the value in offering instruction in this area to your students. While students studying for the medical field may be at a community college, they will likely go on to be employed in high paying, mid to upper-level positions. It is therefore understandable for a school to invest in the future of their students by offering curriculum that gives them an advantage in today’s demanding job market.
How exactly can the vocational program be improved with legal writing skills? Even if you’re not a lawyer, you can still put into action effective writing methods. A quick legal writing instruction with tips on how to create a legal communication, such as a brief answer legal memo, may be all that is needed to help students understand the importance of writing to the point and meeting the legal requirements.
By implementing this program into your classroom, your students will learn how to write clearly and effectively, and they will be able to use those skills in their current and future employment positions. To learn more about creating a brief answer legal memo, see our article on How to Write a Short Legal Memo – Expert Tricks for Brief Answers. This article can help to set up your students for success when they get out into the workforce.