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Registered Nurse- PACU (Recovery Room)- Day Shift
Posted Sep 2, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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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
This role works 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM three days a week with call. How do you handle call nights?
What they are checking: Realistic commitment to the schedule and call that PACU requires.
Tell me about a time a patient became unstable in recovery.
What they are checking: Experience responding quickly and working with anesthesia in emergencies.
What is your plan to complete ACLS and PALS within six months?
What they are checking: Whether they can meet the certifications PACU requires on the stated timeline.
What would you do
A patient's oxygen saturation falls and they are snoring loudly. What do you do?
What they are checking: Quick airway management for obstruction, a common PACU emergency.
A child wakes up very agitated after surgery. How do you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they can keep a child safe during rough emergence from anesthesia, which PALS training supports.
About the work
Walk me through your first five minutes when a patient arrives in PACU.
What they are checking: A systematic assessment of airway, breathing, circulation and handoff details on arrival.
How do you manage pain and nausea while avoiding oversedation?
What they are checking: Safe use of medications in patients still recovering from anesthesia.
How do you decide a patient is ready to leave PACU?
What they are checking: Use of discharge criteria like Aldrete scores rather than gut feeling.
How do you hand off a recovered patient to the floor nurse?
What they are checking: Complete handoff so important details are not lost after recovery.
How do you watch for signs of malignant hyperthermia?
What they are checking: Knowledge of a rare but deadly reaction to anesthesia.
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As published by Southern Illinois Healthcare.
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