Does anyone have opinions on Maxim(agency) good or bad????

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

I've had three experiences with Maxim. For nursing I would get assignments from them that always got cancelled. I always got work from Favorite Nurses.

I contacted them about a telephonic nursing position and after a lot of phone calls and interviewing I was told the client changed their mind about hiring. Unknown to them, I had applied for a telphonic nurse position at the same time I contacted them. The client turned out to be the same in both cases! I think that what probably happened was when the client realized they got a good number of applicants from other job advertising, they told Maxim to take a walk.

I contacted Maxim here in southern California for a medical coding job. They called me and sounded all buffed up about placing me. They never got any coding job clients so I was never able to get any interviews through them.

My mother owned and ran a nursing registry some years ago. It was always to her benefit to have a slew of nurses to call. She had rands full of nurses she could call for jobs. The trick was to get clients to place the nurses with!

nightingale, RN · Sep 13, 2005

I have to admit, I have a little soft spot for Maxims as they were my first Agency over five years ago. They showed me the ropes along with NurseFinders.

As has been said many times, it all boils down to your recruiter in many circumstances. There are Agencies I would stay clear of; Maxims was/is, in my humble opinion, still one of the "good ones". "Find a good recruiter" who keeps you busy (and mine got me double and triple time on occasion) and you will like them as well.

As a seasoned Agency Nurse, I find a great benefit in having more then one Agency.

Good luck to you and let us know how you make out

Hairstylingnurse · Sep 14, 2005

hi girls, thanks for the quick replies. the recruiters told me they were bustin at the seems with work and we're not even in season yet down here in florida. nitengale1998, what do you mean by the recruiter got you double & tripletime?????:uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: i'm hoping you don't mean you worked triple shifts. i'm very new to agency so i don't know what to ask for or what to expect.:imbar :imbar :imbar :imbar i'm working sun & mon nites for a ltcf 11p-7a. so i signed up with agency to get a little variety and extra cash. i'm shooting for private duty and maybe a few flu clinics. hope to hear some tips from you guys soon. :saint: :saint:

suzanne4, RN · Sep 16, 2005

Hi, talked to nurses recruiters at maxim today and couldn't seem to get a strait answer on money. What I was told was that home visits are $50 for lpn & $60 for rn. That was for either pt. teaching or wound care. i CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH WHATEVER IT WAS, IT WAS A DIFFERENT RATE FOR THE OTHER SERVICE THAT I MENTIONED.....I'm interested in private duty peds or geriatrics, homehealth visits, and down the road hospital and ltc placement. I then asked the 2nd recruiter that they sent in to talk to me if you get paid accordding to the accuity of the pt. (ex.trach pt. paying more than minimal post-op pt.), and she said that isn't how it works instead it depends on the way they pay. A case with private insurance pays more than an case from medicare......So why would anyone choose a lower paying harder to care for pt. when you can get a pt. with private ins. that your basically just babysitting????? How do you go about picking & choosing the case that are right for you???? This is my first agency job and I'm totally clueless to to agency world. Please help a:imbar "agency virgin":imbar out by offering any & all advice so I make the right choice. :)

Do you actually have any high acuity peds experience, such as with vents, trachs and G-tubes on the little ones? Most of these kids are considered medically fragile, and without experience in that area, you should not even attempt it. These are the types of peds patients that are normally available, as well as some well-baby visits to check on an infant, and these require previous nursery or even NICU experience. Please be very careful with what you are asking for without specific experience in that area.

I understand that you are new to agency but these are things that you need to be aware of. Or it can be considered insurance fraud if you do not have the experience that the insurance company is paying for. And these are things that the agency doesn't always tell you. Check out some of the threads under the Home Health forum for more on this topic. It is good to know and be aware of.....remember that an agency is trying to fill an open slot and the recruiters are not necessarily nurses. Only you can watch out for your own license.:)

lindarn · Sep 16, 2005

hi girls, thanks for the quick replies. the recruiters told me they were bustin at the seems with work and we're not even in season yet down here in florida. nitengale1998, what do you mean by the recruiter got you double & tripletime?????:uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: i'm hoping you don't mean you worked triple shifts. i'm very new to agency so i don't know what to ask for or what to expect.:imbar :imbar :imbar :imbar i'm working sun & mon nites for a ltcf 11p-7a. so i signed up with agency to get a little variety and extra cash. i'm shooting for private duty and maybe a few flu clinics. hope to hear some tips from you guys soon. :saint:

here in spokane, washington, maxim pays peanuts. they only want to pay $15.00/hr for flu shot clinics, and $23.00 for nursing home, and other areas. i told them to take a hike. i was making $30.00/hr 4 years ago as a permanent in a hospital here with benefits. i asked to be an independant contractor, because i have my own malpractice insurance and a business license, and they turned me down. contrary to popular belief, there is a glut of nurses not a shortage. we are a dime a dozen. i will not work in a hospital unless i can work as an independant contractor. i think that the agencies are realizing that nurses figured out that they do not need an agency to be their "boss", and can work independantly, and they are trying to rein us in and continue to control us. i would like to start an independant nurses practice here in spokane, and employ all of the nurses that presently work in float pools and per diem positions as independant contractor, just like doctors do and er docs, and anesthesiologists. i will not work for hs dropout wages as an rn, and no one else should either. jmho.

lindarn, rn, bsn, ccrn

spokane, washington

blugreeneyez · Sep 17, 2005

:rotfl: i have been with maxim for three years in nc. i have good times and bad times with them. as it was stated earlier it really depends on your recruiter. i will work as much as they will let me but i have been cancelled alot!!! i am currently headed to the hospital to work again. the pay is ok here but not great!! i did home care for peds and adults and i did learn alot of autonomy, but i also learned that you have to watch because you will be sent into something that you are not ready for if you don't let them know that you don't have the experience. i was lucky i started out in peds right out of nursing school in a hospital. peds and vents or peds and trachs are a whole new ballgame. just be careful and protect your license, because it will be you in the courts and probably alone:uhoh3:

TinyNurse, RN · Sep 17, 2005

IMHO, maxim is wonderful!!!

my mom worked agency for them back in ohio and has nothing but good to say about them!!

I took a positon with their travel agency travmax in august, and i also have nothing but good to say about them.

so here i am out here in cali, working my travel assignment, and then they also offer me per diem work..................no more paperwork!!!!!! how wonderful is that????!!!!

travmax/maxim's per diem work in cali is also quite good. pay is good, always on time, nice people to talk to on the phone.

mattsmom81 · Sep 17, 2005

I worked for Maxim and found them a decent agency in general. They charged less than bigger agencies, so I usually got work. As with all agencies, the recruitor makes or breaks the experience. Some are honest and ethical, some not.

nightingale, RN · Sep 18, 2005

Ooooppsss... I did not ask the question regarding double and triple time; I got double and triple pay... twas NICE!

lindarn · Sep 19, 2005

I worked for Maxim and found them a decent agency in general. They charged less than bigger agencies, so I usually got work. As with all agencies, the recruitor makes or breaks the experience. Some are honest and ethical, some not.

Just out of curiosity, how much do they pay? As I said, they only offered my $22/hr for work in a nursing home. I only want to work as an Independant Contractor, and I would have charged alot more than that. I have over 25 years of experience in ICU, have my CCRN, and am ACLS Certified. What they offered to me was what I consider to be not much more than HS drop out wages. I am worth alot more than that, and like MD's do, I want to be paid what I am worth. I do not need an agency to steal more than half of what they are being paid for my professional services. That is why I exclusively do Legal Nurse Consulting, as an independant contractor with attorneys. I set my fee. There is not enough money in bedside nursing to make it attractive.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

Hairstylingnurse · Sep 19, 2005

hi again everyone got some really good replies and i thank you. as far as experience the recruiter told me i will have indepth orientation in office with the educator,test and hands on and then i will be sent with another nurse to the home or homes for hands on orientation. i have plenty of experience with adults but wanted to do some peds. i may stick with adults after some of your replies. do any of you know them to be fair with all the above mentioned orientation. i definantly let them know my experience and that i have to be extrememely comfortable with any assignment. still don't know much about money as they say "it depends on the patients insurance and not so much the case assignment"(this is their words). i had no idea it depended sooo much on your recruiter. i guess i will start asking for reputable recruiters from agency nurses that i'll be meeting. thanks everyone, and if you have any more comments i'm still listening.