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Impostor Phenomenon Among Family Medicine Residency Program Directors: A CERA Study
Bharat Gopal1, Katherine T Fortenberry2, Olivia Coskey3
1Samaritan Family Medicine Residency, Corvalis, OR.
Most residency program directors do not experience high impostor phenomenon (IP). However, shorter tenure, lack of support, and negative self-evaluations correlate with increased IP, suggesting a need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education Research
- Psychology in Medicine
Background:
- Impostor phenomenon (IP) involves feelings of inadequacy despite success.
- IP's impact on physicians is known, but its prevalence among residency program directors (PDs) remains unexamined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and correlates of impostor phenomenon among residency program directors.
Main Methods:
- The Leary Impostorism Scale (LIS) was administered to 257 PDs via the 2021 CERA survey.
- Survey data included role transition, performance evaluation beliefs, perceived support, and likelihood to leave the role.
Main Results:
- 28% of PDs reported no IP; prevalence did not differ by gender or race.
- Higher IP scores correlated with perceived overestimation of performance by evaluations, lower perceived support, and shorter tenure in the PD role.
- IP levels did not significantly differ based on likelihood to leave or sudden role transition.
Conclusions:
- Most PDs do not report high levels of impostor phenomenon.
- Factors such as short role duration, lack of support, and negative self-evaluations are linked to higher IP.
- Further research is needed to develop interventions supporting PDs experiencing IP.
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