registered nurse

medical assistant

nursing assistant

patient registrar

postdoctoral research associate

University of Utah Hospital

You would get dressed in scrubs and clock in then enter the department and find out what area you were assigned to that day. 
If you were assigned to Decontamination you would go and put on your personal protective equipment, and enter decontamination. The instruments would come down the dirty elevator from the operating room, Labor and Delivery, or Burn Operating Room. You take the carts off of the elevator as soon as they come down so that the elevator will not be tied up when they need to send something else down, Loaner sets would be brought in through the back door into Decontamination. You would then either clean the instruments by hand (for delicate or power equipment). Or check to make sure that the sets going into the manual washers were able to be cleaned adequately by those washers, make sure that the instruments were open or taken apart as much as possible, sonic the sets, scrub some items and go through all suctions or cannulated  instruments, before putting them into the washers. 
If you are in Prep/Pack then you would either be assigned to General, Neuro, or Ortho. You would go to your assigned area, clean and stock your area and start work. You would take sets according to what the priority was that day, shift, or if something had been called for. There are sets that are always priorities, but also priorities can change according to what surgeries were being done that day. Ortho concentrated on the orthopedic sets, Neuro concentrated on the sets that were used at the Neuro hospital or at the Main hospital that were Ear Nose and Throat. or above the neck. General concentrated on all other sets. If you ran out of sets in your area you would help in another area. You will go through the sets and make sure that they were clean (if not take them back to Decontamination), that they were in good working order ( if not you would put them in the bin to go out for repair), then either box them or wrap them in a large filter to get them ready for the sterilizer. 
If you were assigned to the Sterilizer then it was your job to take the boxed or wrapped sets, put them on the sterilizer cart if they are steam sterilized add a chemical and sometimes a biological Indicator to the load, record the sets and tests in that load in the computer (for tracking purposes), and what sterilizer they are going in and what load they are in that sterilizer. Then the cart is then loaded into the sterilizer, the doors are then locked and the sterilizer is started. If the set goes into the Steraid sterilizer or the ETO sterilizer they would be recorded in the computer, to the appropriate sterilizer with the necessary tests and taken to the sterilizer and put in the door closed and the sterilizer started. You watch to make sure that the load does not abort, when the load finishes you turn it over to the casa cart person and you take the tests and the printouts back to the computer and log them in to the computer. Starting the Biological tests incubating, then recording the results.   
If you were assigned to Case Carts then you were the person who was assigned to the phones. It is your job to take calls from  the Operating Room, Labor and Delivery, Burn OR, clinics and any one else that calls. You then either then take care of the call yourself or give the call to the appropriate or requested person. You send any requested sets or disposables to the person, room or department requesting them (you mark on it with a card either who requested the item or what room or department it is going to), you send them either on the Clean elevator, the small dumb waiter, or in the tube system. If a set has been called for that is not available because it has already been used you let decontamination and prep/pack know that this set is now the top priority, that everything needs to be dropped to get this set ready for flash, when the set is found and is being worked on you call back the room to let them know that it is being processed and will need to be flashed when it is sent up. You also receive all of the the sterilized sets and put them in their assigned storage spot or on a cart to be sent to the department where they are stored. You pull case carts for any cases that are added to the schedule. You get the paper work ready for the cases that are being preformed the next day so that it is ready when the case cart pullers arrive. When the Operating Room sends back down the items that they have not used you put it all away, or send them back the items which are stored up there that they sent down by mistake. You send up the cart for each case as it is called for. If you have time you help the case cart pullers to pull carts for the next day, or go in and help those who are in prep/pack . 
I learned all of this from them this was how I was able to certify as a Certified Registered Central Service Technician and as a Certified Instrument Specialist.    
In my opinion we had wonderful supervisors and a wonderful manager (our manager left the department a couple of months before I did and almost everyone cried)
Most of my co workers were good to work with, sometimes you will get a person who is hard to work with, but that will happen in any job.  
Lifting some of those sets can get really heavy. 
You feel like you are part of something important.


The good:  Most of the people that work here are phenomenal characters; loved a handful of my co-workers.  They were driven, had a good work ethic, and everyone had a good sense of team work.    The hospital is clean.  You'll get a lot of training depending on your specialty.  They provide a lot of continuing education opportunities.  My direct supervisor was very attentive to any needs that came up, both personal and professional.  

The bad:  Upper leadership needs to add more parking for employees that work at the hospital during day time hours.  It's a little ridiculous to need to commute to work, then hop on a shuttle just to get to the front door.  It's a hospital, not an amusement park.  Would have considered staying if parking was a little more convenient.  So unless you work night shifts, just know parking is going to be a pain in the neck.  There's apparently some wait list for special parking near the hospital.   

Wages - The wages here are not as competitive when you look at the national average.  Certainly does not keep up with the cost of living / housing in the Salt Lake valley.  

It's one of those hospitals that puts a lot of emphasis on "patient satisfaction," and does very little in terms of "employee satisfaction."  Didn't feel I was adequately compensated for my role there as well.  Mandatory overtime during the pandemic with little incentive pay/ no hazard pay for a lot of different people in the hospital risking their well being - not just nurses.   Was basically given a verbal "pat on the back," and to "just become more resilient."   

It seems the money is being spent on expanding the hospital with adjacent state-of-the-art facilities, and doing little to retain their staff.

Elitist culture - certain staff can be horizontally abusive (ie Nurse to nurse).  Unless you regularly work with them, doctors can also be condescending. 
 People who have been there for ages think they're the best and believe they're exempt from certain responsibilities.  People can form cliques.
 



Working as a medical assistant in a hospital is an incredibly rewarding experience, meriting a 10/10 rating. The role offers a unique blend of clinical and administrative duties, making every day diverse and engaging. On the clinical side, you get the chance to interact directly with patients, assisting in examinations, taking vital signs, and sometimes performing basic laboratory tests. These hands-on experiences are deeply fulfilling and provide valuable insights into patient care.

On the administrative side, tasks like updating medical records, scheduling appointments, and managing billing details are critical for hospital efficiency. These responsibilities develop organizational and multitasking skills, crucial in any healthcare setting.

The environment in a hospital is fast-paced and dynamic, presenting continuous learning opportunities. Working alongside doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals offers a collaborative atmosphere where teamwork is paramount. The job can be challenging, with long hours and the emotional weight of dealing with sick patients, but the sense of accomplishment and the impact you have on patients' lives is unparalleled.

Additionally, this career path offers excellent opportunities for professional growth and development. Whether you're interested in advancing in medical administration or pursuing further clinical qualifications, working as a medical assistant lays a solid foundation for a career in healthcare. The experience is not just a job; it's a journey into the heart of patient care, making it a truly rewarding choice with a well-deserved 10/10 rating.

They made me work through my lunch all the time and my manager punched me in and out on the time clock because I was working so hard I couldn't go to the time clock myself. You bet they deducted my lunch from my paycheck even though I worked through it and there's nothing I can do about it because I have no money for a lawyer like the ones they have. They make janitors work through their lunches all the time, daily even, and then the manager lies and covers her tracks and acts like they didn't just break a major law. The manager has more than one time add a punch-out/punch-in for the entire janitor staff and she made us all work through it. They treat you like you are a slave and they don't care if you even get a glass of water. If you stand up for your self they will treat you even worse like when I complained I wasn't being allowed to have water to the nursing staff, needless to say I don't work there anymore because I am not willing to be treated that way. Never in my life have I ever been treated that way by an employer. The janitor staff itself is great, what a great bunch of multi-cultural people. It's so fun to learn about everyone and where there from. Its so sad to see people who don't know U.S. laws being taken advantage of like that.

The medical and non-medical benefits offered to full-time and full-time equivalent staff are fantastic! The U definitely knows how to take care of their employees.The environment of the work place is friendly. Managers and directors are very personable and interested in the effectiveness of their work pool. For my team and position, the schedule is set. However there is some room for flexibility depending on the situation.
Working for a public hospital means I am constantly engaging with all kinds of people. It can be stressful and usually requires me to move quickly to solve an issue. Sometimes the general public can be a handful. The hospital is a place where the whole breathe of human life happens; from birth to death.
The culture of the company is pretty traditional. There are lots of rules and regulations. Things are supposed to be done a certain way to protect patients and the organization. The dress code is dependent on area. Medical staff have scrub requirements. Non-medical staff also have dress code requirements. It's not a place to show off your tattoos or sport unnatural hair colors. My job requires a uniform and I have limited dress and color options.  
Overall, I enjoy working for the U Hospital. It can be stressful and demanding. However I feel like I am compensated appropriately and that my team works well together. In general, employees in all departments are friendly and helpful. The benefits are great. It would be awesome to have a little more wiggle room when it comes to professional dress.

When I started, the training was horrible. There are no workflows or training documents. You have to go by word of mouth in regards to processes and then you can in trouble for that. No matter how many times I've asked for training materials, they've never been created. In fact, I was told by a Director that I can create my own (how does one do that without being training adequately?). 

Your WQs are managed constantly and you get emails often about claims to process or work that are in your WQs so there's a feeling of too much oversight and no trust. 

Random projects are handed out that should be a supervisors job but you get it assigned to you (in addition. To your other duties that cannot decrease in productivity even after taking on additional work you're not compensated for), and not everyone gets assigned. Seems like a huge amount of favoritism. 

Benefits are very middle of the road. The School of Medicine side has way better benefits. The hospital side is not great at all, but the amount you pay monthly is decent. 

Time off is accrued as PTO. There is NO sick leave and absolutely no missing work without planning it advance or you get "occurrences" and written up. If you have a family emergency or anything like that, they don't care. No one really asks how you are doing and all that matters is your productivity. If you ask to be shown how to fo something, your told to ask another team member (even if you've verified this person has trained you incorrectly in the past). No assistance. Only micromanaging.

A typical day at work would be to check my emails, create my task list, follow up on the items that needed to be followed up on, check the Director's & my calendars, opened the mail, delivered faxes throughout the day to the different departments, scheduled meetings, kept up the conference room schedule, prepared for staff meetings, created letters, spreadsheets, etc. as the directors and departments needed and so forth and so on.  This was a very busy office and there was always something to do.  There were a lot of employees to take care of and I was also in charge of certain department's payroll & HR matters.

I learned to really organize my priorities to make sure everything got done in a timely manner and done well.

The management and Directors were great to work with.  They all had their needs and they were very nice in how they requested assistance, letters, meetings, or whatever was needed at that specific time.

The co-workers as a whole were great people and everyone got along pretty well with each other.  I really enjoyed my co-workers.

The hardest part of the job was to get things done when sometimes there was A LOT to get done and get it done effectively when 3 or 4 dept.'s needed it done immediately.  But I always had a good attitude and knew I could get it done.

The most enjoyable part of the job was when I reached my goals, achieved the necessary requirements and to see the appreciation of the departments and Directors as everything was handled and handled professionally.

	•	Pay Doesn’t Match the Workload
A frequent complaint is that salaries, particularly for non-faculty and support roles, don’t reflect the cost of living or the demands of the job.
	•	Slow or Unclear Advancement Path
Many employees feel trapped in mid-level roles with unclear paths to promotion. Internal advancement can be political or siloed by department.
	•	Bureaucracy & Disconnection from Upper Management
Some departments feel unsupported by higher-ups, and navigating policies can be frustrating—especially when HR is perceived as rigid or unresponsive.
	•	High Turnover in Support Roles
Entry- and mid-level staff in administration, dining services, and maintenance often don’t stay long, leading to low morale and inconsistent staffing.
•	Understaffing & Burnout
Nurses, techs, and support staff often feel overworked, especially with growing patient volumes and limited staff expansion.
	•	Wage Compression
New hires sometimes come in making nearly as much (or more) than long-time employees, which creates resentment among veteran staff.
	•	Internal Politics in Advancement
Some employees report that advancement is based more on relationships and favoritism than performance or tenure.
	•	Communication Gaps Between Teams
There can be a disconnect between clinical, research, and administrative branches, which leads to misalignment in decision-making.

Rehab has had 3 managers in 5 years. Orientation to the unit is not consistent, and many staff members say they don't find out how to do something until they are doing it wrong. Hospital policies and procedures are online and you are expected to know all of them, it was easy for me to refer to them, but there are many things that apply only to Medical Rehab that are not available. As in many facilities you are expected to do more with less. The expectation is 6-8 patients on night shift. It doesn't leave time for patient quality, and education, let alone the documentation. Especially when you are cathing most of them every 3-4 hours, you have trachs and vents,  and very sick and/or time consuming patients. Turn over is high, many nurses leave in less than a year. There are very few seasoned staff that really know and understand the needs of the patients, and how to help new staff. Most of the Staffing pool or Nurses from other floors dislike floating to Rehab, because it is so hard. There is poor communication between Nursing and Therapy staff,  patients feel the strain and make comments about the Therapy staff not understanding the importance of good nurses. The patients don't like the negative vibe between the two departments. They should be a team in the patients best intrest.

COVID brought to light the true character of the hospital.  They do not value their nurses.  Specifically in the critical care line.  This last year we were forced to work overtime, extra shifts, be on-call, with no extra pay or compensations.  We were not provided the time or the resources/support to physically and emotionally recover from taking care of our normal ICU pts as well as COVID ICU pts.  The critical care line lost around 200 experienced nurse through this last year due to lack of support and being over worked meanwhile our CEOs, Nursing directors and Managers were able to take time off and get their bonuses/salary raises. But nurses did not get a pay raise last year and are not getting one this year.  Experienced nurses hold no more value than the new hires/new grads that have taken the place of those that left bedside completely.  And nurses in general are not valued at this hospital, if you think you are you are wrong and replaceable. Oh and if you are expecting to make more money as a nurse don't count on it in order to possibly increase your salary in any significant manner you must reach 5 years of employment and invested time and money on specialty certifications, preceptor training and being a charge nurse and then you might get a significant raise (pre COVID)....

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 11 salaries reported	$38.18 per hour
Medical assistant 8 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour
Nursing assistant 3 salaries reported	$17.33 per hour
Patient registrar 3 salaries reported	$20.67 per hour
Postdoctoral research associate 21 salaries reported	$60,056 per year

Working at University of Utah Hospital: Company Overview and Reviews

University of Utah Hospital

University of Utah Hospital Ratings

Popular jobs at University of Utah Hospital

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected