Even if I could offer handsome compensation packages to lure good OR nurses to my three-OR hospital, it wouldn't be enough to retain them. While a good wage is important, one way to keep good nurses is to act as their advocate and include them in decisions that affect their professional lives. Thanks to our policy of "inclusion," I have lost only two nurses to other jobs in 14 years - and three of our 13 OR nurses have been with us nearly 20 years. And this is despite our rural setting, the hospital's fourth sale and the nursing shortage.