Being an imposter: Growing Out of Impostership

Abstract

Imposter syndrome is the fear of being discovered as an intellectual fraud. It is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. It lowers a person’s inner self-confidence, self-esteem that impedes work performance and this phenomenon is more prevalent among medical students. However, talking openly about it with peers, rooting positive thoughts, and building confidence help us to the appropriate reality of our situation and counter our negative self-talk.

Keywords

• failure; fraudulence; impostorism; medical student; self-doubt.