Registered Nurse (RN) - Charge Main Operating Room
Posted Sep 13, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 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.
Behavioral
Tell me about a time a case was running long and it started backing up the rest of the day's schedule. What did you do?
real experience managing OR flow under time pressure and their decision-making process when things go sideways
Describe a time you had to give a staff member difficult feedback about their performance or behavior. How did you approach that conversation?
comfort with the supervisory side of the role, since this is a working charge nurse who also does counseling and reviews
How do you balance being a peer to your OR staff with also being the person who has to hold them accountable?
self-awareness about the dual role of charge nurse and whether they can maintain authority without damaging team trust
Tell me about a surgical complication you were part of managing. What was your role and what happened afterward?
clinical judgment under pressure and understanding of post-op risk, tied to the job's emphasis on recognizing complications
Tell me about a time you had to keep a team motivated during a particularly grueling or high-volume stretch of cases.
leadership style and whether they can sustain morale, since the job description specifically names motivating staff as a duty
Technical
What's your experience with both scrubbing and circulating, and how recently have you done each?
whether the two years of required OR experience actually includes hands-on competency in both roles, not just one
Where are you in your CNOR certification or BSN completion, and what's your plan to meet the timeline this role requires?
concrete compliance with the posting's certification and education deadlines, not just intention
What does 'ensuring policies and safety regulations are consistently followed' actually look like day to day in an OR you've worked in?
whether they understand practical compliance enforcement versus reciting policy language
Situational
Walk me through how you'd build the daily OR schedule when you've got more cases booked than rooms and staff available.
whether the candidate can prioritize competing surgical demands with limited resources and think like a resource manager, not just a nurse
A surgeon calls out a piece of equipment isn't working right in the middle of a case. As charge nurse, what's your first move?
crisis response instincts and knowledge of escalation paths versus just reacting
Two nurses want the same day off and you're already short-staffed that week. How do you handle it?
fairness and problem-solving in scheduling conflicts, a near-daily reality in this role
If anesthesia flags a concern about a pediatric patient right before a case starts, what are you thinking about as the charge nurse in the room?
whether they actually apply the stated requirement of recognizing needs across pediatric to geriatric populations
A patient still needs care at the end of your shift and no one is available to relieve you. How do you handle that?
reliability and understanding that this role has no fixed end time when patients still need care
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