Introduction: Nursing shortages have been on the rise throughout the country which has continued to become a problem due to an aging baby-boomer population causing increased turnover through the United States (U.S.). With this need for nurses expected to rise, determining the root causes of this problem are essential for health care providers as costs continue to grow.

Methods: The methodology for the qualitative study was a literature research review of case studies as well as a semi-structured interview. Five electronic databases were minded. Thirty-six articles were utilized in this study.

Results: Through the use of a conceptual framework the root problems of the nursing shortage and what leads to nursing turnover were evaluated. These studies were based on; aging of nurses, patient demographics, insufficient staffing, a lack of experience, nursing schools, and salary problems to be potential links to increased turnover and overall shortages within the U.S.

Discussion/Conclusion: Evaluation of these study problems determined a positive correlation towards both the nursing shortage and to turnover of nurses in health care organizations. These issues established that negative job satisfaction leads to turnover, which leads to the overall nursing shortage problem facing the U.S.