Do you feel like an impostor?

Abstract

Individuals who are unqualified to fulfill a role are impostors. Often, competent practitioners feel they are unable to successfully practice their profession and suffer from an impostor syndrome. In health care, this can have a number of negative outcomes, including a poor reflection of the institution through the individual's actions. In many cases, impostorship can be prevented or remediated through the use of techniques such as identification, mentoring, and promotion of positive self-concepts. This article reviews a number of these techniques to help supervisors, especially new supervisors who may have feelings of inadequacy and impostorship, in developing a positive self-image.