Beyond ‘Imposter Syndrome’: Reframing Self-Doubt in Medicine
C. Phifer Nicholson Jr., University of California, and Mary Brandt, and Holland Kaplan, Baylor College of Medicine
Recent studies demonstrate many members of the medical and surgical community feel like professional ‘imposters,’ yet our response to this phenomenon may be fundamentally misguided. The medical community has instinctively approached so-called ‘imposter syndrome’ as if it were a pathological condition, applying the same diagnostic and treatment frameworks used for disease. This medicalization assumes that feeling like an imposter represents a disorder requiring intervention, but decades of research have failed to establish effective 'treatments' or prevention strategies.
In this presentation, we argue that persistent difficulties in addressing imposter experiences stem from a category error: we have pathologized what may be normal responses to professional challenges and systemic inequities. Rather than asking how to diagnose and treat imposter syndrome, we should ask why capable professionals feel inadequate and how medical communities can better support their members.
We propose three key reframings to address these fundamental questions. First, high-achieving individuals like pediatric surgeons often operate at the edge of their comfort zone, leading to moments of self-doubt. Therefore, the imposter phenomenon may reflect a healthy, virtuous response to the immense responsibility of practicing medicine. Normalizing the experience and reframing it as a positive expression of humility may alleviate distress and encourage growth. Second, systemic marginalization also plays a key role in the imposter phenomenon—for women, minoritized individuals, and others at the margins are disproportionately affected by these feelings. Active work and prophetic witness against these structures is therefore key in addressing these experiences. Finally, studies reveal the imposter phenomenon among medical practitioners is most prevalent in junior members of the community and those who feel unsupported in their practice. Robust mentorship, shared vulnerability, and intentional communal support will in turn drive a change from isolation toward mutual interdependence.
This paradigm shift moves us from failed attempts to ‘treat’ imposter syndrome toward communities that normalize humility, confront and speak prophetically agains systemic barriers, and support members through shared vulnerability rather than isolation. In medicine and surgery, where the stakes are high and the culture often perfectionistic, reframing the imposter phenomenon is essential to create environments where both professional growth and clinical excellence can flourish.
In this presentation, we argue that persistent difficulties in addressing imposter experiences stem from a category error: we have pathologized what may be normal responses to professional challenges and systemic inequities. Rather than asking how to diagnose and treat imposter syndrome, we should ask why capable professionals feel inadequate and how medical communities can better support their members.
We propose three key reframings to address these fundamental questions. First, high-achieving individuals like pediatric surgeons often operate at the edge of their comfort zone, leading to moments of self-doubt. Therefore, the imposter phenomenon may reflect a healthy, virtuous response to the immense responsibility of practicing medicine. Normalizing the experience and reframing it as a positive expression of humility may alleviate distress and encourage growth. Second, systemic marginalization also plays a key role in the imposter phenomenon—for women, minoritized individuals, and others at the margins are disproportionately affected by these feelings. Active work and prophetic witness against these structures is therefore key in addressing these experiences. Finally, studies reveal the imposter phenomenon among medical practitioners is most prevalent in junior members of the community and those who feel unsupported in their practice. Robust mentorship, shared vulnerability, and intentional communal support will in turn drive a change from isolation toward mutual interdependence.
This paradigm shift moves us from failed attempts to ‘treat’ imposter syndrome toward communities that normalize humility, confront and speak prophetically agains systemic barriers, and support members through shared vulnerability rather than isolation. In medicine and surgery, where the stakes are high and the culture often perfectionistic, reframing the imposter phenomenon is essential to create environments where both professional growth and clinical excellence can flourish.