skeez

Check out these: Main Menu - NCLEX-RN 3500 - Institutional Version

I also live in "cutthroat" southern CA and it is indeed brutal. Countless hours of sending and filling out applications only to get rejected. I came across a thread on here that utilized a different strategy that has led to a lot more leads instead of rejection letters. I have had 2 interviews in the past 3 weeks but did not get either (one interview I thought I nailed but was told they just hired a bunch of new grads, the other one was not so good). Much better to call, go in person, or email the CNO directly. https://allnurses.com/nursing-job-search/how-i-got-689384.html

yeah I wasn't a fan of it either. The theory/lecture is interesting, but this area is not for me. What i took away from the class is how to interview patients and what not to say. Maybe its just me but I felt that the staff and MD's during this rotation were super nice. Almost like they are trying to get any student to join this speciality

I feel your pain. You sound just like me during my first year. Now that I am nearing the end of my program, I can tell you do not read every single detail. I remember in foundations/principles, those questions would frustrate the whole class. My suggestion to you is to focus on the nursing assessment sections and less on the "disease details". For example, in ARDS, don't try to memorize every chemical reaction/inflammatory cytokine blah blah blah. Instead, your focus should be, I am caring for a patient with X disease, what do I need to do, watch out for, complications, and treatments. That is all I focus on now. Also, PRACTICE QUESTIONS EVERY DAY. I try to do 20 questions a day, buy review/study books, look online for practice questions with rationales. I have become much more efficient (quality not quantity) in my studying by narrowing my focus and practicing questions. In terms of figuring out questions, I usually start with what can kill the patient? nothing obvious? Go to ABC's. Still nothing? next is nursing process. Assess before giving the med, etc. Most questions can usually be answered in this order. Not sure if that helps or makes sense...