Based on the participants’ rankings, the study authors found that 1 in 4 physicians experienced frequent or intense imposter syndrome symptoms. Stronger feelings of imposter syndrome bring greater risk of occupational burnout, suicidal thoughts and professional unfulfillment, according to Shanafelt.
“For physicians, this feels like you should always be doing more and putting work first,” said Shanafelt, who directs Stanford Medicine’s WellMD and WellPhD Center.
Physician responses to one statement — “I’m disappointed at times in my present accomplishments and think I should have accomplished more” — were compared with responses from more than 2,500 U.S. professionals in other fields.
After adjusting for factors such as age, gender, relationship status and hours worked per week, physicians were at a 30% increased risk of reporting imposter syndrome symptoms compared with all other U.S. non-physicians and at an 80% increased risk relative to people with a doctoral or professional degree in another field.
Symptoms, notably emotional exhaustion and questioning one’s accomplishments, were more common among women, young and unmarried (excluding widowed) physicians, as well as those in practice at an academic medical facility or with the Veterans Health Administration.
‘An honest look in the mirror’
“When physicians experience burnout, they cut their professional work hours, they do less clinical work, they have twice the rate of turnover and their patients’ experience suffers,” Shanafelt said. “The medical profession needs to take an honest look in the mirror — about the great qualities of the profession but also those that are less ideal — to give physicians a better foundation for the challenges that a career will bring.”
The best thing we can do is to embrace the physician as a human rather than as simply a hero.
The authors recommend ways medical organizations can mitigate imposter syndrome in the workplace, including fostering a culture that allows physicians to express vulnerability and sharing personal stories in small group discussions. Particularly, the authors note, experienced physicians, who often appear to have it all together, can describe their own “failure resumes” for junior colleagues to demonstrate that role models also have difficulties. De-stigmatizing and normalizing help-seeking could also contribute to more professional fulfillment, the authors state in the paper.
With the help of a professional coach, individual physicians can tackle imposter syndrome symptoms, Shanafelt said, by reframing their thoughts and learning to recognize their accomplishments and acknowledge that they are due to their hard work, skill and ability.
“The best thing we can do is to embrace the physician as a human rather than as simply a hero,” Shanafelt said.
Shanafelt is a member of the Stanford Medicine Maternal and Child Health Research Institute and the Stanford Cancer Institute.
The research was funded by the Stanford Medicine WellMD and WellPhD Center, the American Medical Association, and the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being.
Scientists from the Mayo Clinic and the American Medical Association also contributed to the research.