YOU ARE NOT AN IMPOSTER. YOU’RE A HUMAN. By Joan Naidorf, DO
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Joan Naidorf, DO, is an emergency physician, author and speaker based in Alexandria, VA. Her book, Changing How we Think About Difficult Patients, (American Association for Physician Leadership) was published in 2022. She blogs at https://www.drjoannaidorf. com/ and at Joan Naidorf – Medium.
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THE PULSE SPRING 2022
t feels like everyone is talking about imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is defined as doubting one’s abilities or feeling inadequate, like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high achievers and perfectionists who tend to find fault even with their own marvelous accomplishments. Every human feels it from time to time, even men. Much of the writing and studies seen recently in the media focus on the phenomenon in women and speaking of it in terms of a medical or psychiatric diagnosis. The Harvard Business Review has gotten in on the movement. Authors Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey ask the people in the business world to “Stop Telling Women they have Imposter Syndrome.” They object to taking a “fairly universal feeling of discomfort, second-guessing, and mild anxiety in the workplace and pathologized it, especially for women. The authors resent the victim blaming of a biased system that makes women feel as though they do not belong. They write, “For women of color, universal feelings of doubt become magnified by chronic battles with systemic bias and racism.” In Emergency Medicine News, Dr. Simons (AKA the ER Goddess), wrote
a response to the Harvard Business Review authors and the general public regarding her take on the matter. In “It’s Not Imposter Syndrome—It’s Gender Bias” she frames the issue in medical workplace and training programs. She writes, “The discomfort that women have been convinced is imposter syndrome is not a psychological affliction but a normal response to being female in a culture rife with gender discrimination.” She concludes, “Labeling female physicians as having imposter syndrome may be easier than changing workplace culture, but it inappropriately blames individuals for natural reactions to persistent sexist overtones in medicine. Rather than helping women fight imposter syndrome, we should be fighting gender discrimination.” In the blog section of Women in White Coats, Dr. Mary McCrary, wrote of her own experience with imposter syndrome as she rose through the ranks of medical student, intern, OB resident and then OB chief resident. She noted at every stage of transition, the professionals around her were at a higher level of experience and training and by comparison, she naturally felt inadequate. By the time she reached her chief resident year, she realized
