Any experience with headhunters/recruiting firms?

I have been in my current position as an overnight staff RN in a small community hospital ED for 5 years. It is my first job in nursing. (I am a direct entry Master's in Nursing graduate) I also started last year to teach one day per week in the nursing simulation lab at a local university. My wife recently gave birth to our first child and now I am passively looking to find another job in the Southern Maine and NH or Northern Mass. area with daytime hours. I was wondering if anybody has had any experience - or know of somebody - utilizing nurse recruiting firms or "headhunters". Are they worth it? Any pitfalls or successes? I am not considering traveling agencies. I have been getting e-mails from these recruiters a bunch lately. Any info that you wish to share would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,

Tim
Depends on what type of job you are seeking. No one is using recruitment firms for staff nurses these days but many organizations are using them for management or hard-to-fill jobs. As a nurse educator, I have had two good experiences with recruiters - but each time, they initiated first contact about a job that turned out to be a really good fit. The head-hunter handled everything, including all travel arrangements for interviews & house hunting, salary negotiations, moving expenses, temporary housing, etc. Be sure to only deal with reputable firms. If they ask you for any money - just walk away. They are paid by the prospective employer, not the job candidate. You can contact a recruitment firm and ask them to represent you, but most times they contact you because of a 'lead' through referrals and professional networks. That's why you should always maintain a strong presence in your specialty network and professional organizations.
I've had experiences with recruiters,mostly good.Post a profile and resume on linkedin & monster.com Indeed.com is also a good search tool.The recruiters scour them and will contact you. Don't pay them, but do ask them if they have been retained by the hiring organization, in which case they have inside access to HR and will help move things along.