Staff Nurse Inpatient-PACU Part-time Days
Posted Sep 22, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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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
Tell me about a time a post-op patient got worse quickly. What did you notice first?
What they are checking: Whether they pick up early warning signs and escalate clearly, which is the core skill in recovery nursing.
The posting mentions shared governance and unit projects. Tell me about a time you helped improve how your unit worked.
What they are checking: Whether they contribute beyond their own assignment and care about how the whole unit performs.
What would you do
Your patient's oxygen saturation drops into the 80s and they're hard to arouse. What are you thinking and what do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they can spot airway compromise or oversedation quickly and act before it becomes a code.
This is a part-time role. How do you stay current on procedures and protocols when you're not on the unit every day?
What they are checking: Whether they take responsibility for keeping skills sharp in a high-acuity area despite fewer shifts.
A patient wakes up confused and agitated and starts pulling at their lines. How do you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they can keep an emergence-delirium patient safe while ruling out medical causes like low oxygen.
A family member is anxious and keeps calling for updates while the patient is still recovering. How do you handle that?
What they are checking: Whether they can communicate kindly with families while protecting time for direct patient care.
About the work
Walk me through what you do in the first few minutes when a patient rolls into PACU from the OR.
What they are checking: Whether they have a fast, ordered assessment routine covering airway, vitals, pain and the anesthesia handoff.
How do you decide a patient is ready to leave PACU for the floor?
What they are checking: Whether they know discharge criteria and scoring well enough to avoid sending an unstable patient out too early.
How do you manage a patient's pain right after surgery when they're also at risk for respiratory depression?
What they are checking: Whether they can balance comfort and safety with opioids and use reassessment rather than guessing.
How do you give a handoff report to the floor nurse so nothing important gets lost?
What they are checking: Whether they deliver structured, complete reports that protect patients during one of the riskiest transitions in the hospital.
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As published by Northwestern Medicine.