Conflating competence with confidence: Student perceptions of a professor with imposter phenomenon.

Theory Impostor phenomenon (IP) is a widely recognized experience in which highly performing individuals do not internalize success. Self-doubt toward one’s ability or intelligence is unexpectedly common. Prior research has associated IP with medical student perceptions, burnout, and demographic characteristics. However, understanding how student IP experiences are related to actual academic achievement could help medical schools better support student performance and resilience. Hypotheses: The purpose of this research was to examine whether there is a relationship between medical students’ USMLE Step 1 scores and experiences of IP. Because medical students receive frequent, objective feedback on exam performance, we hypothesized that students with lower Step 1 scores would experience higher levels of IP. Methods: In 2019, all M1–M4 students at the University of Louisville were invited to complete Clance’s (1985) Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), a previously validated, 20-item, Likert-style scoring instrument designed to reflect respondents’ IP experience. We categorized subjects into one of four levels based on CIPS scoring guidelines. For students who had completed Step 1 at the time of the survey, we conducted a Welch’s ANOVA test to identify relationships between a student’s level of experienced IP and Step 1 scores. We also completed an item analysis comparing individual CIPS item responses with Step 1 performance. Results: Per the CIPS scoring guidelines, we categorized the 233 respondents as experiencing few (10.3%), moderate (47.6%), frequent (31.8%), or intense (10.3%) characteristics of IP. Nearly 90% of our sample experienced at least moderate levels of IP, with over 40% experiencing frequent or intense IP. There were no statistically significant differences among CIPS groups and mean Step 1 scores [F (3, 59.8) = 1.81, p = 0.155], and total/inter-quartile Step 1 score ranges broadly overlapped among all four IP experience levels. Within-item response patterns among high and low-scoring students also varied across individual CIPS items. Conclusions: The association between IP experience and Step 1 performance was nonlinear in our cross-sectional sample: the group having the most intense IP experiences did not have the lowest score rank on Step 1, nor did the group with the fewest IP characteristics make up our highest performing group. This, along with the broad dispersion of scores within each of the four IP levels, suggests that students’ internalization of achievement and feelings of IP are not consistently aligned with their actual performance on this assessment. Response variation on individual CIPS items suggest that underlying factors may drive variation in IP and performance. These results highlight the need for additional work to identify the constructs of IP that influence medical students specifically so that medical education stakeholders may better understand IP’s impact on other facets of medical school and implement the resources necessary to support individuals who experience IP.

Evaluation and assessment of imposter phenomenon in third year pharmacy students in a personal and professional development course.

This study examined (i) the prevalence of impostor feelings in first-year dental students, (ii) student perceptions of a mindfulness practice as a tool to cope with impostor feelings, and (iii) students' ability to identify their level of impostor feelings. Two hundred three D1 students at a single institution participated in a mandatory Mind-Body Wellness Course that included the presentation "Understanding Imposter Phenomenon" (lecture #1) and a second presentation "Impostor Phenomenon and Mindfulness: Tools for Success" (lecture #2) 6 months later. Before lecture #2, all students predicted the level to which they suffer from imposter feelings and then took the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) to determine the actual level. After lecture #2, 155 of the students completed a survey on whether the mindfulness practices in the lecture impact their perceptions on coping with impostor feelings. Fifty-two percent of students were classified as frequent or intense impostors by the CIPS. Fifty-one percent predicted their CIPS classification correctly; 43% underestimated their impostor classification. After lecture #2, 86% reported feeling confident they could recognize their impostor feelings, and 93% reported feeling more aware of how impostor feelings influence their thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Eighty-six percent reported feeling the mindfulness exercise was a helpful tool to build habits to cope with impostor feelings; 83% reported feeling confident they could utilize mindfulness practices to mitigate these feelings when they arise. Frequent or intense impostor feelings may be common in first-year dental students. Mindfulness practice has potential to mitigate such impostor feelings.