From clinician to educator: A scoping review of professional identity and the influence of impostor phenomenon

Introduction: As healthcare educators undergo a career transition from providing care to providing education, their professional identity can also transition accompanied by significant threat. Given their qualifications are usually clinical in nature, healthcare educators’ knowledge and skills in education and other relevant theories are often minimal, making them vulnerable to feeling fraudulent in the healthcare educator role. This threat and vulnerability is described as the impostor phenomenon. The aim of this study was to examine and map the concepts of professional identity and the influence of impostor phenomenon in healthcare educators. Methods: The authors conducted a scoping review of health professions literature. Six databases were searched, identifying 121 relevant articles, eight meeting our inclusion criteria. Two researchers independently extracted data, collating and summarising the results. Results: Clinicians who become healthcare educators experience identity ambiguity. Gaps exist in the incidence and influence of impostor phenomenon in healthcare educators. Creating communities of practice, where opportunities exist for formal and informal interactions with both peers and experts, has a positive impact on professional identity construction. Faculty development activities that incorporate the beliefs, values and attributes of the professional role of a healthcare educator can be effective in establishing a new professional identity. Conclusion: This review describes the professional identity ambiguity experienced by clinicians as they take on the role of healthcare educator and solutions to ensure a sustainable healthcare education workforce.

Impostor Phenomenon in the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

BackgroundImpostor phenomenon (IP) (also known as impostor syndrome) describes high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor. Despite robust literature describing the effects of IP in other health care professions, there is an absence of research within the nutrition and dietetics profession.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence and predictors of IP within the nutrition and dietetics students and practitioners.DesignAn online cross-sectional survey was conducted.Participants/setting1,015 students, dietetic interns, and currently practicing and retired nutrition and dietetic technicians registered, and registered dietitian nutritionists provided complete responses.Main outcome measuresImpostor phenomenon was assessed with the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). Self-reported Job satisfaction and well-being were assessed using validated scales.Statistical analysesDescriptive statistics were summarized and reported using frequency counts and percentages. Unadjusted logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between IP and sociodemographic outcomes, job satisfaction, and well-being.ResultsRespondents were primarily female, non-Hispanic White, and practicing dietitians. The average CIPS score was 66.0 ± 16.3 (range 22-99). 64% of survey respondents (n=655) experience intense or frequent IP and 62% (n=628) had a CIPS score ≥62. Older age, educational attainment, professional level, and membership in Academy groups were associated with lower IP scores. Greater Social media use was associated with higher IP scores. Job satisfaction and overall well-being were inversely correlated with impostor phenomenon (p<0.001).ConclusionsFindings from an online survey suggest that a majority of nutrition and dietetics students and practitioners experience IP. Our results reinforce the need to recognize and address this issue by raising awareness, using early prevention methods, and supporting individuals who are younger and/or new to the profession.

The Impostor Phenomenon: Toward a Better Understanding of the Nomological Network and Gender Differences

The impostor phenomenon (IP) refers to the tendency to perceive oneself as intellectually incompetent and to attribute one’s own success to effort-related or external factors, such as fortunate circumstances. The present study (N=209) aimed to contribute to open questions regarding gender differences in the IP and the nomological network of the IP. The results show that the consistently found key correlates of the IP, that is, lower self-esteem and higher neuroticism, could also play a role in explaining why women report higher impostor feelings than men in many studies. Moreover, the results suggest that IP is characterized by the more maladaptive, socially prescribed perfectionism, which is related to the belief that others expect perfection from oneself, whereas self-oriented perfectionism, which is characterized by a critical view on oneself, plays a smaller role in differences in the IP. Finally, a strong association with the sandbagging construct challenges the conceptualization of the IP as a genuine doubt about one’s own competence, because similarly to IP, sandbaggers present themselves negatively to others, but do so for very strategic reasons in order to create a low expectation base in other individuals. Regression analysis was used to assess the incremental value of the personality factors in explaining variance in the IP. It was found that sandbagging and IP are highly related but not interchangeable.

Connecting the Dots Between Mindset and Impostor Phenomenon, via Fear of Failure and Goal Orientation, in Working Adults

This study aims to investigate the relationship between mindset and impostor phenomenon, via the explanatory role of fear of failure and goal orientation in the work domain. Only one known study has previously connected mindset and impostor phenomenon in the scientific literature among females in a university setting. Data was collected from 201 working adults, with a roughly equal male-female ratio, from a range of sectors in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and United States. Participants completed an online survey comprising the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory, Work Domain Goal Orientation Instrument, and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). We tested a serial-parallel mediation model using structural equation modeling. The results suggest that people with a fixed mindset tend to experience more impostor phenomenon at work and this relationship is predominantly explained by their fear of failure. Further, when employees are also motivated by a performance avoid goal orientation, the relationship increases in strength. This indirect relationship suggests that staff training, and coaching interventions designed to increase people’s belief that they can develop their abilities results in a reduction of their fear of failure and in their motivation to want to avoid showing their inability at work. The results also suggest cultivating environments that promote a growth mindset and learning goal orientation, alongside the safety to fail, could lessen the negative effects of having a fixed mindset, reduce fear of failure, and alleviate impostor phenomenon’s negative impact on employee career development and wellbeing.

Impostor Phenomenon on First- and Second-year College Students

New students tend to experience the stress and anxiety of transitioning from the school environment to the campus environment. Anxiety in dealing with new situations or roles can lead to the Impostor Phenomenon (IP). This study aimed to determine the effect of family relationships, general anxiety, and the Big-five personality traits on impostor phenomena. The sample of this study was 439 first and second-year students taken by the non-probability sampling technique. The measuring instruments used in this research are Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), Brief Family Relationships Scale (BFRS), Four-Dimensional Anxiety Scale (FDAS), and Big-five Inventory (BFI). Data analysis in this study used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and multiple regression analysis techniques. The results showed a significant effect of family relationships, general anxiety, and the Big-five personality traits on the impostor phenomenon. Based on testing the minor hypothesis, there are six significant variables: emotional, physiological, cognitive, behaviour, extraversion, and awareness. Other variables such as cohesion, expressiveness, conflict, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness have no significant effect on the impostor phenomenon.

Prevalence of Impostor Phenomenon in Physiotherapy Professionals: A Pan India Survey

Background: Impostor Phenomenon is described as the psychological experience in which there is the individual does not have the ability to believe that the accomplishments achieved by him/her are deserved or are achieved because of one’s own skills and talents, but because of one being fortunate. Impostor Phenomenon is seen in many professional setting and is also prominent in highly successful individuals. Impostor phenomenon is increasing among the health care professionals. The following study determines the prevalence of Impostor Phenomenon in Physiotherapy professionals. Method: The study was conducted through online survey method. Simple random sampling was done and forms were sent to the physiotherapists. 200 participants responded to the questionnaire. Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale was used to measure Impostor Phenomenon. Demographic data was collected and questionnaire was filled by the participants. Total scoring was done and the participants were classified according to categories of Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale. Result: 7.5% of physiotherapists had few impostor characteristics, 58% experienced moderate impostor characteristics, 32% having often impostor characteristics and 2.5% of had intense Impostor Phenomenon. The scoring of male and female physiotherapists was similar and the scores of clinicians were more than academicians. Conclusion: The study concluded that Impostor Phenomenon affected the Physiotherapists. Many of physiotherapists scored between 40-60 and indicated having the characteristics of Impostor Phenomenon at a moderate level. No significant difference was seen between males and females. The prevalence of Impostor Phenomenon in clinicians was higher than in academicians. Key words: Impostor Phenomenon, Health care professionals, Physiotherapists.