Registered Nurse - RN - Operating Room
Posted Sep 1, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 5, 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
MacNeal's twelve OR suites cover ortho, neuro, urology, ENT, eyes, vascular and robotic surgery. Which of those services do you know best, and how would you get up to speed on the others?
What they are checking: Whether they are honest about their experience and have a real plan to learn unfamiliar specialties safely.
Tell me about a time something went wrong during a case. What did you do in the moment?
What they are checking: Whether they stay calm, get help and keep the room organized when a case takes a bad turn.
How do you advocate for a patient who is asleep and can't speak for themselves?
What they are checking: Whether they see the circulating nurse as the patient's voice in the room, which is central to OR nursing.
Loyola offers a clinical ladder and a certification bonus. Where do you see yourself growing in perioperative nursing?
What they are checking: Whether they have real interest in OR nursing as a career, such as working toward CNOR or precepting.
What would you do
The count is off at closing and the surgeon wants to close anyway. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they will hold their ground on a count discrepancy even when the surgeon pushes back.
How do you handle a surgeon who is disrespectful to the team during a case?
What they are checking: Whether they can keep the room safe and professional and report behavior through proper channels.
About the work
Walk me through how you lead a surgical time-out.
What they are checking: Whether they run the time-out as a real safety stop that anyone can halt, not as a box to check.
As the circulator, what do you check in pre-op before the patient comes back to the room?
What they are checking: Whether they verify consent, site marking, allergies and history so problems are caught before anesthesia.
How do you position a patient for a long robotic case to prevent pressure injuries and nerve damage?
What they are checking: Whether they understand positioning risks in long procedures and take steps to protect the patient.
What do you do to prevent surgical site infections from the circulator's role?
What they are checking: Whether they enforce sterile field rules, traffic control and skin prep as an active part of their job.
Practice this interview out loud.
Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Trinity Health from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.
Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Trinity Health.