Shed imposter syndrome, gain self-confidence!
The new and the unknown can be exhilarating, as well as terrifying. Regardless of our backgrounds and professional aspirations, it is normal to question one’s capabilities when first embarking on a career. When patients make comments like “you are too young to be a dentist” and question your abilities from the get-go, it does not help—such interactions only reinforce persistent feelings that your success is somehow undeserved, or that you are out of your depth. It is especially easy to fall into the trap of unfairly comparing oneself to other dentists and members of your team who have had years, if not decades, to become ripe on the vine while you are still “green.”
As aspiring or new dentists, you are not alone in the experience of imposter syndrome (IS) (or “imposter phenomenon” (IP)). As health care professionals, the feeling of inadequacy and self-doubt that characterizes imposter syndrome is especially prevalent and tends to cast a long shadow. In fact, the first large IS/IP study of 3,200-plus practicing physicians published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found around one of every four respondents reported frequent or intense IS experiences. These experiences were more intense among younger doctors, as well as female doctors. Findings indicated that frequent rotations and transitions during medical/dental school also contributed to a high incidence of IS.
Despite the years of education and respect that dentists and other health care professionals command, researchers surmise that doctors tend to experience these intrusive, damaging feelings—personally and professionally—at a higher rate than professionals in other fields due to:
- The challenges of working within an exceedingly accomplished peer group.
- Long-standing norms of medical culture that have cultivated perfectionist and unrealistic expectations.
- Norms that specifically suggest doctors must be impervious to normal human limitations.
- The conventional perception that seeking help is a sign of weakness.
- Individual physicians suffering and struggling in silence due to a lack of vulnerability with colleagues who might otherwise intimately understand what they are going through.
- The lack of acknowledging and addressing IP experiences early (when they start in medical school) with proper training, support, and intentional efforts to reduce stigmas around seeking help.
- Constantly changing dental/medical technologies, and evolving research and best practices that lead doctors to perpetually feel behind and not up to the demands of the industry and profession.
- The financial pressures of managing the likes of student debt and the business side of the practice, which amplifies the stress that also fuels IS.
- An overwhelming fear of making a mistake that could harm the patient.
Read related article: Under Pressure: Dealing with Stress and Anxiety
When considering all these factors, it seems astounding that the remaining ~75% of doctors surveyed in the above large-scale study are not actively experiencing IS, too! So, know the current system and environment that you are working within is absolutely rife for an imposter syndrome epidemic, especially among students and early careerists due to the unique and competing stressors associated with a steep learning curve and “just starting out.” Since myriad studies have all connected the dots between IP and conditions/consequences like anxiety, depression, burnout, poor work-life integration, and impaired job performance, the sooner we do something about IP, the better off we will be. We can put this phenomenon behind us early into our careers, before it does great damage to us mentally, emotionally, physically, and professionally. That is one of the hardest truths about IS. As high achievers, you dedicate so much of yourself to the craft, only to have the natural responses to imposter syndrome (such as overworking to “prove oneself”) sabotage all you have worked so hard to accomplish and all the hard work that it took to get to where you are now.
How to shed the imposter that is holding you back, to move boldly forward
The good news is we are already well on our way to putting IS behind us. After all, we are acknowledging this phenomenon. There is power to putting a name to the feelings that haunt us every day. In fact, therapists have a phrase for this starting point—“name it to tame it!” When we can identify and articulate what we are feeling, our nervous system calms down. Our brains start to make sense of what is happening/the whirlwind around us. Our cognition begins to crowd out those voices that tell us we don’t measure up. We aren’t good enough. We shouldn’t be here. It is also essential to articulate these feelings with others. That piece of the puzzle that has long been missing within the broader and unreasonable culture of health care.
Within the traditional, rather destructive culture and systems, there has been no place to feel psychologically safe, to share one’s unshakeable sense of being a fraud, or insecurities. So, we must actively seek out support systems. As helpful as it can be to have a formal mentor, informal relationships can be incredibly impactful, too. Lean into those more experienced dentists that you admire. These can be individuals that you have formerly trusted to speak about technical or business matters. If you trust them for insights in these areas, you likely can trust their observations and wisdom outside of the clinical, academic, or operational arena. And break down the stigma around seeking out care from therapists or counselors who have special expertise with the challenges faced by high-achieving professionals. Professional coaches can also provide a dialogue for self-exploration that informs meaningful change in how you feel about your capabilities.
As laughable as it may seem, given your harried schedule, it is crucial to set aside moments to celebrate successes and milestones. Even seemingly small achievements in the moment may in retrospect be big breakthroughs, and they deserve to be acknowledged. The more you acknowledge progress, little by little, the more you will feel as if you belong and are on the right path. Growing and evolving as human beings also comes down to acknowledging that failures will be inevitable. Use these failures as opportunities. How you fail really matters. We encourage failing forward, which is really not failing at all as you take what you learned and apply this wisdom to be successful. Continuing to learn outside of what is required from you for CE, even in a fun way with an irreverent professional podcast or engaging books, can boost your self-confidence and also help to refine your skills.
Perhaps most importantly, you are more than your white coat. At every step in your career journey, mind the other aspects of your identity! Nurture them. If you always loved to run, do not let it fall by the wayside. Reacquaint yourself with your old running buddies or former teammates again. If you have become so wrapped up in your work and proving to your insecure self that you deserve to be where you are at career-wise, you may no longer engage in that hobby or activity that you are also incredibly good at or that you simply enjoy doing. There is no time like now to dust off that hobby or remove the cobwebs from that personal passion of yours that adds so much meaning and joy to your life.
Being well-rounded provides much-needed perspective. You do not get in the weeds or obsess over perceptions of your performance. Your world is so much bigger than the four walls of a classroom or office. You are not isolated, consumed by gnawing and persistent feelings of inadequacy. You have a whole network of “helpers” and helpful sources of inspiration and motivation to start your career on the right footing and to finally throw that unproductive and destructive imposter phenomenon off track.
About the author
Naren Arulrajah, President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, has been a leader in medical marketing for over a decade. Ekwa provides comprehensive marketing solutions for busy dentists, with a team of more than 180 full time professionals, providing web design, hosting, content creation, social media, reputation management, SEO, and more. If you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing results, call 855-598-3320 for a free strategy session with Naren. You may also schedule a session at your convenience with the Senior Director of Marketing – Lila, by clicking https://www.ekwa.com/msm/.