Abstract
Contemporary departments in academic medical centers face challenging obstructions to the sometimes conflicted missions of education, research, and patient care. While the ward demands of patients and families have remained stable or increased, the availability of both attending faculty and residents has often decreased due to the requirements of relative value unit production and trainee duty hour limitations. The Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington has evolved a novel solution to provide senior level attending coverage and bedside mentoring to help fill these gaps.