RN, Registered Nurse | Surgical & Digestive Care Unit
Posted Oct 1, 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 24-bed unit takes abdominal, vascular, urology, ENT, trauma, bariatric and plastic surgery patients. Which of those populations have you cared for, and which would be new to you?
What they are checking: Whether they can honestly map their experience to a broad surgical mix and name the gaps.
You rotate between day and PM shifts. Tell me how you give a handoff that the next nurse can actually use.
What they are checking: Whether their report focuses on what matters next shift, which prevents things from being missed at changeover.
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a provider about a patient's plan. How did you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they can advocate for a patient clearly and respectfully, and use the chain of command if needed.
What do you do to keep growing your clinical skills when the patient population is this varied?
What they are checking: Whether they take ownership of learning instead of waiting for formal education to come to them.
What would you do
A post-op bowel resection patient is tachycardic, a little confused and their urine output has dropped over the last few hours. What are you thinking and what do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they recognize early signs of sepsis or bleeding and escalate before the patient crashes.
You have five patients, and two need you at the same time: one with new chest pain and one asking for pain medication. How do you decide?
What they are checking: Whether they prioritize by clinical urgency and know how to get help for the second patient.
About the work
The unit also takes Intermediate Care patients who need closer monitoring. How does your assessment change for an IMC patient compared to a standard surgical patient?
What they are checking: Whether they understand that IMC means more frequent assessment and faster intervention, not just extra monitoring equipment.
What are you watching for in a patient recovering from a Whipple procedure?
What they are checking: Whether they know the major complications after a Whipple, like leaks, bleeding and delayed gastric emptying.
How do you manage pain for a post-op patient on opioids while keeping an eye on their breathing?
What they are checking: Whether they balance comfort and respiratory safety, including sedation scoring and when to hold a dose.
How do you prepare a surgical patient and their family for discharge so they don't end up back in the ED?
What they are checking: Whether their teaching covers wound care, warning signs and who to call, using teach-back rather than a handout alone.
Practice this interview out loud.
Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Bellin Gundersen 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 Bellin Gundersen.