[Excerpt from publisher] Good levels of recruitment and retention among nurses are critical to the effectiveness of the NHS workforce. But significant numbers of nurses are unhappy with many areas of their work, and feel frustrated by issues such as lack of resources, poor pay and conditions, inflexible working times, and a grading system that makes career progression difficult. This publication argues that the NHS nursing shortage will not be solved unless all aspects of nurses' working lives - including roles, workload and conditions - are improved in an integrated way. It draws conclusions about what needs to change to reverse the current problems.