Registered Nurse - RN - PACU
Posted Sep 15, 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
This position requires taking call. How have you handled on-call before, and what happens when you're called in at night?
What they are checking: Whether they are reliable and safe with call, as the posting states on-call is required.
Tell me about a time you caught a post-op complication early in recovery.
What they are checking: Whether they stay vigilant during the high-risk first hour when patients can deteriorate quickly.
Tell me about working closely with anesthesia during an emergency.
What they are checking: Whether they communicate clearly and work as a team when anesthesia is managing the airway.
What would you do
Gottlieb's PACU has 10 bays. How do you handle it when the OR keeps sending patients and the floors aren't ready to take them?
What they are checking: Whether they manage flow, communicate with OR and floors and keep patients safe during holds.
A patient wakes up agitated and tries to pull out their IV and drains. How do you respond?
What they are checking: Whether they assess for causes like hypoxia or pain before treating it as simple emergence delirium.
About the work
Your patient just arrived from the OR and their oxygen saturation drops to 86 percent with snoring respirations. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they act fast on airway obstruction with positioning, jaw thrust and calling anesthesia.
How do you decide a patient is ready to leave PACU?
What they are checking: Whether they use objective criteria like Aldrete scores rather than time alone or pressure to free bays.
A post-op patient's temperature is rising fast, their jaw is rigid and their end-tidal CO2 is climbing. What's happening?
What they are checking: Whether they recognize malignant hyperthermia and know where dantrolene is and how to call for help.
How do you manage post-op pain and nausea while watching for respiratory depression?
What they are checking: Whether they balance comfort with safety, especially in patients with sleep apnea or opioid sensitivity.
What do you include in your handoff to the floor nurse?
What they are checking: Whether they give a complete, structured report so the next nurse knows exactly what to watch.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Trinity Health.