Research into Action to Diversify the Biomedical and Behavioral Research Workforce: Combating Impostor Phenomenon (IP): A Preliminary Qualitative Evaluation of a Workshop for Diverse Summer Research Students

Abstract

Background: Impostor experiences can occur as early as in high school,1 making it a pervasive phenomenon during scientific training. If experiencing IP (particularly by those historically underrepresented in the STEM and bioscience workforce)2,3 impedes progress in research careers,4 designing effective interventions to reduce its impact are warranted. Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of a workshop on raising awareness and empowering diverse summer research students to recognize and process impostor-feelings. Methods: For the summer program, a 90-minute, research-based, interactive workshop addressed IP experiences, bias, and resilience. Data were analyzed from 25 racially/ethnically diverse students (5 African-American, 5 Latinx, 8 Asian, 7 white; 8 undergraduate, 13 graduate, 4 medical) who participated in an orientation workshop and attended a mid-summer panel presentation by senior faculty on failure, rejection, and IP. Using qualitative, open-ended reviews of student surveys, we identified themes about the impact of the workshop activities on coping with IP over the summer experience. Results: Students strongly endorsed scheduling the workshop, at the beginning of the 10-week program. Formally learning about IP, with a common vocabulary to describe it, increased awareness and appreciation of the issue. They valued sharing personal stories that validated their own IP experiences and relieved anxiety by learning about this common experience; students described “feeling relief.,” Some felt more comfortable with themselves and with others through a sense of bonding over shared experiences. They also felt supported by the training program for recognizing the value of offering the workshop to trainees. To increase resilience in dealing with IP, one workshop activity had students brainstorm coping strategies together after discussing IP triggers. Students appreciated working on solutions together and they seemed to recognize the long-term/usefulness of the material covered. Many reported using methods learned from the workshop during their summer experiences to deal with IP and reported using positive self-talk, focus their thinking on facts about themselves and the situation, grounding them firmly against potentially persuasive and confidence-eroding impostor-feelings (e.g., “I reminded myself that despite those feelings of doubt, there is little to negate the fact that my name is on that poster.”). Knowledge and skill gained from the workshop, when reinforced by key supporters at moments of struggle, may enable students’ ability to combat impostor feelings: “Since the workshop, I am better able to identify and acknowledge when I am feeling like an impostor. For example, as I was preparing for my Elevator Speech, I felt a little nervous and my lab member reminded me that I am the expert of this project and I needed to own it. After that discussion, I saw a big improvement in my subsequent rehearsals!” Not all impostor feelings were addressed, but students reported being more able to manage their feelings and persist towards goals and challenging tasks. A small number of students, mostly men, reported not experiencing IP, describing comfort with status as a student who inherently has less knowledge, embracing the experience as an opportunity to learn, not being afraid of not knowing, and not being afraid to ask questions. Some students reported disappointment from suboptimal performance but no impostor feelings. Conclusion: A brief, theory-based workshop designed to help students recognize, prevent, and combat IP experiences can have positive impact on subsequent experience and successful management of IP during a summer research experience. Future research can improve understanding about IP with longer follow-up and enhanced measurement of IP triggers and experiences, as well as characterization of individuals who do not report experiencing or report lower levels of impostor feelings for further insight for interventions. Speaker bio:Shine Chang, Ph.D., is a University of Texas System Distinguished Teaching Professor, Ashbel Smith Professor, and tenured full professor in the Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is also director of a large, federally and state-funded multi-disciplinary research training program in cancer prevention. With more than 20 years of experience as a cancer epidemiologist and cancer prevention scientist, and as a nationally recognized cancer research training program director, she has extensive experience leading training programs, advising college, graduate and health professional students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. Dedicated to diversifying the academic health workforce, she has published more than 75 original peer-reviewed journal articles and presented numerous seminars and workshops nationally and internationally on topics including cancer prevention education and training, workforce diversity, and academic health leadership. She has held leadership roles in several professional membership societies focused on cancer prevention, education, and cancer research, and received recognition for her work and mentorship, including an NIH Merit award for mentorship, and the 2017 MD Anderson President’s Leadership Award for Advancing Women and Minority Faculty, the institution’s highest honor for efforts to diversify and support faculty. Whenever possible, she enjoys swing dancing with her husband, which drives their three dogs crazy.