Assistant Nurse Manager, General OR
Posted Sep 17, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you stopped a case or spoke up during a time-out. What happened?
What they are checking: Whether they will enforce surgical safety even when it creates friction with a surgeon.
Tell me about a workflow you improved in the OR, such as turnover time or case cart accuracy.
What they are checking: Whether they've led concrete operational change and can show how they measured it.
Describe a time you had to hold a staff member accountable for a repeated practice issue.
What they are checking: Whether they document, coach and follow through instead of hoping the problem goes away.
What makes the jump from charge nurse to assistant manager hard, in your view?
What they are checking: Whether they have realistic expectations about hiring, reviews and reporting on top of clinical oversight.
What would you do
You'd run evenings in the General OR, 3 to 11. An add-on trauma comes in while two elective cases are running late. How do you sequence the rooms?
What they are checking: Whether they can prioritize by acuity, communicate with surgeons and anesthesia, and keep staff within safe limits.
How do you staff an evening OR when you don't know how many add-ons are coming?
What they are checking: Whether they plan for call teams and overtime limits and think about fatigue as a safety risk.
A surgeon is repeatedly short and rude with your circulators. How do you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they protect staff and escalate disruptive behavior through the right channels instead of tolerating it.
You rotate onto day shift every fifth weekend. How do you keep standards the same between evening and day teams?
What they are checking: Whether they think about consistent practice across shifts rather than running their own version of the OR.
About the work
What do you check to make sure a count is right, and what do you do when it isn't?
What they are checking: Whether they know the retained-item process cold, including imaging and documentation, and won't let the case close on a wrong count.
What's your approach when sterile processing sends up a tray with a missing or bioburdened instrument right before incision?
What they are checking: Whether they understand sterility standards and the escalation path to sterile processing without delaying unsafely.
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As published by HSHS.