What are the reasons for high turnover in nursing? A discussion of presumed causal factors and remedies.

Problems with high turnover in nursing and of maintaining adequate numbers of nurses to supply clinical staffing requirements have a long history and have therefore attracted a commensurate literature with time. An overview and discussion of the situation internationally, with an emphasis on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the UK, finds that job satisfaction is often a consistent underlying determinant interacting with workplace factors and personal reasons in complex ways. Effective and adaptive retention strategies are required to meet and mitigate the problem as reasons for it may vary over time. Solutions must be flexible and targeted to meet the individual circumstances identified.