Stephen Rideout

Hi! I’m an RN on the Burn Trauma ICU and the interim Secretary Treasurer. After starting my career as a biologist, I eventually decided that maybe office jobs weren’t the best fit for me, and followed my wife’s lead by going into nursing. I moved to Salt Lake in 2014 to attend the U for nursing school and got a job on the Burn ICU immediately after graduation. I am passionate about the care that our incredible team provides to our burn patients from around the entire Intermountain West, and I’m proud of my contributions in helping people regain their lives. This is what lights my fire.

However, these feelings stand in stark contrast to what I view as the U’s uncompromising approach to me as an employee. To them, I am a number in a financial spreadsheet instead of a valued member of the team whose experience and knowledge contribute to the organization’s success and is worth encouraging and retaining. I spent 6 years earnestly engaging the administration through their advertised feedback pathways, and nothing ever changed. It eventually became clear that the University is willing to take excellent care of its patients, but is unwilling to take the same excellent care of its employees. So I left, in the height of COVID, when the world felt like it was falling apart, and the University, again, failed to acknowledge our sacrifices and contributions in a way that made any of us feel valued.

I took a job as a travel nurse, and had the opportunity to work at a number of union hospitals. Wow, what a difference - nurses were valued! Nurses had power! And we were still able to take excellent care of our patients. It was enlightening, and motivated me to return to the U to participate in the union effort. I’m excited to be part of this unprecedented effort to unite around our shared goal to take better care of our patients and of ourselves. I’m eager to build a lasting organization that will stand the test of time. We can make change, but it has to be together.