Strength in Numbers: Leveraging Mentorship Teams to Support Medical Student Research in Turbulent Research Environments

Abstract Amid the ongoing changes across the healthcare and research environment—marked by funding constraints, shifting institutional priorities, and increasing clinical demands—faculty are facing mounting challenges to sustaining meaningful research mentorship. At the same time, medical student interest in research continues to rise, driven by both personal curiosity and career-oriented goals. This monograph explores how team-based mentorship models can help bridge this growing divide, offering a flexible and collaborative approach that distributes the responsibilities of guiding student research across mentors with complementary expertise. Drawing from the experience of seasoned faculty mentors across diverse settings, this monograph provides practical strategies to maintain high-quality mentorship despite time pressures and competing priorities. Topics include honest time assessment, shared project design, aligning student timelines with research feasibility, peer mentoring structures, and effective navigation of institutional support. Rather than viewing mentorship as an added burden, this model reframes it as a shared, strategic investment in the future of academic medicine. By embracing mentorship as a team sport, faculty can cultivate environments that celebrate curiosity and perseverance, equipping medical students with the skills, confidence, and passion to meaningfully engage in research—and to carry that commitment forward into their careers as future physician-scholars.