Same Day Surgery/PACU RN
Posted Sep 7, 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 patient started to deteriorate quickly while you were recovering them. What did you notice first and what did you do?
pattern recognition under pressure and whether they escalate appropriately instead of freezing or waiting too long
Tell me about a time you had to push back on a surgeon or anesthesiologist about a patient's readiness for discharge or the next phase of care.
willingness to advocate for the patient and communicate assertively across the hierarchy
Tell me about a time you delegated a task to an LPN or unlicensed assistive person and it didn't go the way you expected. What did you do?
understanding of scope of practice and how they course-correct when delegation breaks down
Tell me about a time you caught a documentation error or gap in the EHR before it caused a problem for the patient.
attention to detail and ownership of accurate charting in a fast-turnover environment
What's something you changed in your own practice recently because of new evidence or a unit-level quality initiative?
engagement with professional development and unit councils, which the posting explicitly values
Technical
Walk me through how you assess a patient in the first few minutes after they arrive in PACU from the OR.
whether the candidate has a systematic, safety-first approach to post-anesthesia assessment rather than a checklist recited from memory
How do you manage a patient's pain in PACU when they're still groggy and can't reliably tell you their pain level?
clinical judgment around pain assessment tools and titrating medication safely in a non-verbal or semi-conscious patient
What discharge criteria do you use to decide a patient is ready to go home after same-day surgery, and what makes you hold someone longer?
knowledge of standard PACU discharge scoring and clinical judgment beyond just following a checklist
How do you adjust your approach when your PACU patient is a young child versus an older adult with multiple health conditions?
real understanding of age-specific care rather than a generic answer, since the posting specifically calls this out
Situational
You've got two patients coming out of anesthesia at the same time, one with a rocky airway history and one who's just nauseated and anxious. How do you prioritize your attention?
triage judgment and comfort managing competing acute needs without dropping either patient
This role has you rotating between Aurora Medical Center Burlington, Aurora Lakeland, and Southern Lakes Surgery Center, plus occasional floating. How do you handle walking into a unit that isn't your usual one and getting oriented fast enough to be useful?
adaptability and whether they have a personal method for quickly learning unfamiliar equipment, layout, and team dynamics
Describe how you'd handle a call shift where you're paged in overnight for an unexpected recovery. What's going through your head on the drive in and once you get there?
readiness for the on-call demands of the schedule and ability to shift into clinical mode quickly with limited backup
A family member in the waiting area is upset and demanding updates while you're mid-recovery with their loved one. How do you handle that?
communication skills and ability to manage family anxiety without compromising patient care
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