Members of our shared governance councils play a key role in planning an annual off-site re¬treat for all staff members in surgical services. Nursing leaders budget for this retreat and recruit professional speakers to present educational offer¬ings. We pay staff members for their attendance and plan the retreat for a Saturday to allow for maximum participation. Staff members develop possible themes for the annual retreats and then vote on the entries. The most recent winning theme was 'Taking Care of Your Family is our Operation." We design T-shirts with the winning theme on them and give one to each staff member