I am not being allowed to continue a clinical rotation due to weaknesses in basic skills - so until I can improve I can't petition to continue - no guarantee there will be room at at that point. My first instinct is to do whatever I can to improve and try to get back in the same school - academically I do very well but my hands on skills are weak (just starting 3rd term of nursing school). should I apply to other schools/programs or just work on improving and hope to get back in?

A couple of questions: Are you in a 2 year or 4 year program: and where? Somehow I think they would be willing to offer more lab time, more practice on skills (as they would in my school of nursing). We had a gal in my class who had and A-V malformation, had a seizure, then neurosurgery to fix it. The school gave her 'incompletes' so she wouldn't have to pay the tuition again - she finished up a year later, passed her boards and is now working. Did the school just flunk you, or what? Have you met with your advisor on this? Just some suggestions. Good luck!

thanks for the reply - yes it's a BSN program - I went through the "crash courrse" entry last summer and am 2 terms into the program (6 terms total). I don't have a dramatic medical reason for my weakness - but I was under a huge amount of stress and it really took a toll on me - I would forget things that I knew - or just couldn't say the right thing - -there was no discussion or help - just "you can't finish the rotation". I have taken steps to improve my skills and lighten the stress in my life - it has taken too long and too much work to give up! I want to apply to several programs that offer "advanced placement" for students who have some nursing school - but they require letters of reference from my school and I don't think they will give me one at this point, in spite of my excellent academic record. I have no guaranatee that my school will find a spot for me when I can convince them I have improved so I am looking for alternatives.

It won't hurt to ask for a reference - you never know - you might get one that says some wonderful things about you! It is your right to see the letter then you can choose whether or not you want to use it or not.