The future of the nursing workforce in the United States is facing impending disaster if not handled properly. According to the report released by Dr. Buerhaus, Dr. Staiger, and Dr. Auerbach, the RN shortage could climb as high as half a million by 2025 with a 2% to 3% increase annually (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2018). Short-staffing can negatively impact the well-being and performance of nurses. They are obligated to tend more than the average number of patients. Accordingly, their physical and mental health suffer, which leads to chronic fatigue, stress, and burnout. Consequently, they are choosing to leave work, resulting in a high turnover rate. A systematic review was conducted to analyze the relationship between nursing understaffing, job satisfaction, stress, and burnout levels. It examined published and unpublished works performed from 1990 to 2010. The results showed that the nursing shortage positively correlates with job dissatisfaction, burnout, and stress level (Toh et al., 2012). Moreover, the findings revealed that the oncology department nurses were forced to seek new employment in different departments to lessen their stress. Another literature review about the nursing shortage and the nurses’ intention to leave their profession was carried out. The study identified the causes of leaving employment classified into individual and organizational factors (Chan et al., 2013). Moreover, it was reported that the U.S. nursing schools had declined the acceptance of approximately 80,000 qualified applicants for undergraduate and graduate programs. It is primarily due to insufficient faculty members, budget restrictions, and lack of available classrooms to conduct lectures (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2020). Some of the identified factors causing the nursing faculty shortage are the aging population, undersupply of qualified professors who finished their doctorate degrees, and the lack of experience to perform the role (McDermid et al., 2012). There are several strategies to address the nursing shortage effectively. In terms of nursing faculty, the salary and compensation should be increased because potential candidates prefer to work in a private-sector clinical setting due to higher reparation. On the other hand, to attend to nurse understaffing, the flexibility of schedule should be allowed. Balancing work and personal matters can be overwhelming for nurses who have busy schedules and demanding tasks. Moreover, policymakers,
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