Introduction to effective mentorship for early-career research scientists

Abstract

Diversifying the scientific workforce remains a national priority due to the continued lack of representation from underrepresented individuals in STEM fields. Quality mentoring has been identified as a stimulus to enhance not only research success, but also recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups pursuing STEM careers. Utilizing the Entering Mentoring training curriculum framework, this report provides a brief synopsis and key takeaways from the 2019 NIH-ASCB Accomplishing Career Transition (ACT) workshop, “Introduction to Effective Mentorship for Scientists” for 30 senior postdoctoral and early-career faculty researchers from historically underrepresented racial and ethnicity backgrounds. In addition, effective strategies and best practices to enhance STEM mentoring for early-career researchers are provided, which have practical applications for diverse mentoring relationships across disciplines, career stages, and mentee types.

Characteristics of early-career nurse researchers negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

“…It also has a significant impact on the activities of researchers in creating, conducting and publishing research, such as writing papers, obtaining research funding and networking with other researchers 2 3. Early-career researchers generally need support and mentoring to obtain research funding and form research management teams 4 5. Researchers in this growth phase have been reported to be particularly affected by critical and rapid changes in the research environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 3…”

FENS‐Kavli Network of Excellence: Perspectives on existing and emerging scientific career models in neuroscience

“…To enhance the prospects of success for early career members of research institutions, it is recommended to organize meetings or career fairs that bring together professionals from various fields of the neuroscience career landscape with the current institution. Additionally, the promotion of the track records of these early career researchers should be linked to such events to provide a comprehensive overview of their accomplishments and facilitate networking opportunities with potential employers (Diggs‐Andrews et al, 2021).…”

Mentorship Practices and Research Productivity Among Early-Career Educational Psychologists in Universities

“…In order to explain the pervasiveness of research on ECRs, other scholars have studied professional identity (Karaharju-Suvanto et al, 2021), stress and financial selfefficacy (Dickson et al, 2020), work-life balance (Gutman, 2020;Krilid et al, 2018) career trajectory (Belfi, 2021;Emmanouil et al, 2017), lived experiences (Caretta, 2018;Whipp & Geronime, 2017), doctoral teaching development (Connolly et al, 2018), school loans/educational debt (Rothstein & Rouse, 2011;Zhang, 2013), career progression (Goldacre et al, 2010), and the pathway choices (Carrico et al, 2012) of ECRs. However, some studies with a focus on early-career researchers have considered several aspects of mentorship such as information mentorship (Al Shebli et al, 2020), mentorship experiences (Kay et al, 2009;Lalani et al, 2018;Mgaiwa & Kapinga, 2021), workplace resources (Perumalswami et al, 2020), effective mentorship (Diggs-Andrews et al, 2021), online mentorship (Bielczyk et al, 2019), supporting early-career mentorship (Kwamie & Jalaghonia, 2020), research mentorship (Hernandez-Lee & Pieroway, 2018Van Schalkwyk et al, 2017), induction and mentorship programs (Weldon, 2018), and also peer mentoring programs (Brody et al, 2016). However, none of these studies have explored nurturing, cloning, or apprenticeship as specific practices of mentorship.…”