ArwenEvenstar

Yeah! Private duty (through agency) is low pay nursing around here too. I'm a RN. I took a 40% pay cut from the hospital when I made the switch. And, at the hospital I was at, you always got a yearly raise. In the 4 yrs of private duty, I never got a raise. So the pay difference only got worse with time!! I was willing to take the pay cut for less stress. But after several yrs, private duty got to me to - family drama, nurse's lacking professional boundaries causing all kinds of trouble, etc. I also agree with another response (nurse156) that pay is not the point here, nor is it about "sitting around" when you could be helping the family clean. It is about being a professional nurse. I found out that if you gave an inch, the families tended to take a mile! I would keep the PATIENT'S area clean, and do cleaning RELATED to the patient's equipment and such. But nothing for the family at all. It is too easy to get sucked in...and soon you are doing all kinds of things for the FAMILY, and the patient is being neglected. Or you have lost objectivity and do not even realize it. I saw things spiral out of control very quickly in private duty. Focus on the nursing care!

Although it was through agency, when I resigned the high tech vent case I worked - they had a very hard time replacing me. Maybe it is the vent aspect. Vents scare some nurses. But I agree with another response - the problem may be with finding RN's. LPN's seem much more prevalent in private duty or home shift work. As a RN who worked home shift work for several yrs, I often got vibes that I was doing "an LPN's job". Frequently it was suggested I change to supervisory/management work. But I wanted shift work and did NOT want the hassle of management or supervision for various reasons. Unfairly, I think RN's who do home shift work or private duty are considered to be losing their skills or stepping down. Many of the cases are very high tech! I actually gained new skills that I did not have from all my years of hospital nursing!

I thought the FBI article was the best. http://www.fbi.gov/newark/press-releases/2011/maxim-healthcare-services-charged-with-fraud-agrees-to-pay-approximately-150-million-enact-reforms-after-false-billings-revealed-as-common-practice As it focuses more broadly on the "company culture" of Maxim that bred this type of thing to begin with. Supervisors, managers, etc were involved. I dislike how some of the other news articles focus more on the nurse/mother involved, when it was much more than this!! Many nurses on allnurses have expressed concerns of many types about Maxim. Complaints have been consistent across the USA. Sadly many of these threads/posts have disappeared from allnurses. At least now with official indictment and news articles, the truth can be stated and not censored. Many of the problems at Maxim stem from the company culture on sales and their business model which is clearly problematic.

Maxim update, straight from the FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/newark/press-releases/2011/maxim-healthcare-services-charged-with-fraud-agrees-to-pay-approximately-150-million-enact-reforms-after-false-billings-revealed-as-common-practice "Maxim Healthcare Services Charged with Fraud, Agrees to Pay Approximately $150 Million, Enact Reforms After False Billings Revealed as Common Practice"

Latest news on Maxim from the FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/newark/press-releases/2011/maxim-healthcare-services-charged-with-fraud-agrees-to-pay-approximately-150-million-enact-reforms-after-false-billings-revealed-as-common-practice "Maxim Healthcare Services Charged with Fraud, Agrees to Pay Approximately $150 Million, Enact Reforms After False Billings Revealed as Common Practice" Do a google search - much info available. If fraud went on in your state, you should find local articles.

The video monitoring is out of hand, but I agree with ventmommy. Some of the rules are no doubt due to nurses who did stupid or inconsiderate things. Personally, I have had many people live with me over the years - foreign exchange students, rented to US college students, friends, family, etc. Probably 75% of the house guests were great, the other 25% not so great. Some of the inconsiderate things the 25% would do never ceased to surprise me. We have a list of basic house rules that got longer over the years accordingly. Recently we had 2 US college students living with us who closed all doors so loudly it was unbelievable. I mean their regular shutting of a door sounded like they were slamming it with all their might! We feared they were going to cause damage and they were also waking us up from sleep frequently by it! New rule: close doors quietly!

Yes, it seems that some of the threads about Maxim have disappeared...at least the ones that voice honest concerns about the problems with Maxim. If I say anything negative, this may too disappear! Clearly censorship is going on. Quick summary: Maxim offices are run by very young men in their early 20's with degrees in things like sales/marketing. They lack life maturity, and don't understand health care or nurses. Communicating with them was immensely frustrating. They just wouldn't "get it"! They could put on an initial positive professional front, but be wary! In addition, whatever methods they used to organize schedules and communicate was NOT working! The left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. Schedule mix-ups and mis-communication were the NORM. I'd arrive at a home thinking I was working 4pm-9pm, to find that the family expected me to stay until 12! The family had notified Maxim of their shift need, but Maxim never notified me of the change! Maxim seemed to drop the ball with communication constantly. Even if you told them 2 months ahead that you would not be available a certain day, they would "forget" (and then accuse you of not showing up for work) or do absolutely nothing until the day before the shift. If you put in for a day off or vacation - I would highly recommend that you put it in writing and have them sign so you have proof you notified them. Maxim is about sales, not caring for human life. The young men are under high pressure (which is not their fault, but the fault of Maxim's business model) to fill shifts with nurses. So these young men could literally hound and harass you to work in their desperation to fill shifts. You need backbone!! (Or else you will find yourself working shifts or cases that don't work well for you!) In the threads that have disappeared, similar concerns have been voiced by nurses all over the USA. I went into Maxim "blind" knowing nothing about their reputation or how their offices are run. Had I known ahead of time, my experience might (?) have been better because I would have at least known the deal ahead of time. But I would NEVER work for Maxim again myself.

I may have discovered the reason this thread has not disappeared (yet at least!). The title of the thread is mis-spelled as "Maxin". So maybe it is evading some searches by the powers that be. Maybe that is the key - refer to Maxim as Maxin! Spread the word nurses! haha.

If I did not work for Maxim myself for 2 yrs, I would have a hard time believing this! But I did, so i do!! I was "harassed" by Maxim too. For example, they would call me MULTIPLE times about the SAME shift. But if i am not available, I am not available. Asking me 5 times is not going to change my answer!! I could give so many examples of highly unprofessional and discourteous behavior. By the way, negative post threads about Maxim are disappearing. One did today. And several old post threads about Maxim are "gone" too. One of the threads in particular had invaluable insights from many nurses from all over the USA with similar concerns and complaints about Maxim. There seems to be censorship going on!! What happened to free speech? There is a difference between libel or an attack, and simply sharing your honest experience. Many nurses have had not-so-good experiences with Maxim. Can this not be shared? Or can we only say wonderful and great things? I speak up BECAUSE I do not want other nurses to go through the nightmare and frustration that I did working for Maxim. Or so that they can at least go into it with their eyes wide open. I walked in blind. My experience with Maxim might not have been quite so bad if I had known some things ahead of time. For example, it is helpful to know how their offices are run - by young men in their early 20's with sales/marketing degrees. Or if I'd been told ahead of time to put all schedule requests in WRITING, because confusion and disorganization and schedule mix-ups were common place. If I'd understood the system to begin with, I could have dealt with some things differently to start with. Lets see if this post disappears now. I have noticed on several other employer review sites that similar things are happening - negative things on Maxim are disappearing, or posts are being made to defend Maxim and counteract the bad reviews. Makes me wonder if Maxim is behind this? ARE they putting pressure on various sites to keep negative things off???

Maybe I'd still be doing private duty (and still be a nurse!) if I'd had an agency like this! How awesome they planned ahead, trained other staff, and took other measures to ensure you were properly staffed. They were concerned for staff, patient, and family alike! It sounds like a great agency, and you sound like a great parent/nurse! I worked for Maxim (not afraid to say it)...they never planned ahead, did not care about training people, and were just grossly unorganized. Even with repeated reminders, they would wait until one day before or the very day that a nurse would be out to deal with it. In this case, Maxim would have waited to one day before or the very day maternity leave started, frantically made calls, and then sent any warm body out (if one could be found!) to the house. Or they would have somehow "forgotten" about maternity leave, and would call the nurse saying "why didn't you show up for work?" - Duh! Even though they were told multiple times about the maternity leave. Yes, all this and more happened to me with Maxim...although not with maternity leave, but with needing time off for vacations, my schooling, etc. A few months ago I ran into family of a patient I used to care for, and they had been without a nurse for over a month! Because of no planning and total dis-organization I am sure!

No, no, no!!!!!! That is my strong opinion. Your gut hesitation is right! One of the big problems I encountered with private duty was nurses who lacked a professional boundary between themselves and the pt/family. Things can get out of hand fast and lead to all kinds of troubles.

Kyasi, your perspective is great because you are a nurse and you are in charge. That is how it should be. It makes sense. As I've mentioned before, I hope your nurses really appreciate you and your agency. The best agency I worked for was a little mom and pop one where a husband and wife owned and ran it. The husband did the business end, and the wife was a RN who did the care end. The wife, as a RN, understood healthcare and nurses. The problem with many of these other agencies (Maxim!) is that men with sales/marketing degrees are in charge of everything. They have no grasp of healthcare or nurses. Thus you end up with unbelievable things going on!!!! Yes, there are supervisory nurses but the male recruiters and director with no understanding of healthcare call the shots.

yep! I recently ran into the family of a case I used to work through Maxim, and they had been without a nurse for over a month! Unable to staff a case for that long?! Maxim digs their own grave!! And this was a high tech case that got the highest reimbursement rates. Kyasi, you sound great! I hope your nurses appreciate you. If you treat the nurses (and HHA's) like professionals and show appreciation for good work, you are more likely to get and keep reliable, competent, and loyal employees. Maxim clearly does not get that. Their whole business structure is wrong. Maxim gave me the biggest bunch of bull. Not only blamed medicaid reimbursement rates, but mentioned all the other "expenses" they have to pay for employees...ya know social security, office overhead, etc. I was about to start sobbing for how little Maxim makes. (yeah, right!) The male director of this location lives in a posh, luxury home. How do i know? He lives in the same neighborhood as a case I worked. He earns enough to live in luxury, but won't give a nurse a 50 cent an hour raise.

A raise?!?! hahahahaha!!! I never got one in my 4 plus yrs of private duty - through 2 agencies. The first agency (a nice mom and pop agency) said they already were paying me the most they could. They were apologetic. They said they could not give me more unless medicaid raised their reimbursement rates. And when I started there, I actually started at the highest rate they paid (since I sordof "demanded" it). So, I believed them and understood. Then, with Maxim....when I asked for a raise, I was given a very insulting "circular" speech. Don't want to raise my BP by rehashing how condescending they were! Basically they said nurses were demanding and expected too much. blah. blah. And my raise expectations were pretty reasonable - I was hoping for 50 cents an hour.

Big pay difference here!! Like not_a_hat_person, I also took a pay cut of about 33% from hospital to private duty. And the discrepancy only got worse with time. I got a small pay raise every year at the hospital, but I never got a raise the 4 years I did private duty.