NUBE 2024

The imposter phenomenon (IP) is a negative state of self-doubt experienced by various professions, genders, and races, with a prevalence rate reported from 9-82%. If you were to do a quick internet search, there are numerous TED Talks, social media sites, and business professional literature dedicated to exploring and explaining IP. In emergency psychiatry, IP can surface in a variety of forms: as a contributor to/direct source of distress in patients, burnout in trainees, or stunted professional growth with experienced staff. IP has been psychiatrically linked with depression and anxiety, and those who experience it may struggle with personal relationships and/or marital distress. In the workplace, leaders and administrators need to recognize and address IP as it is linked to turnover, procrastination, and inability for managers and supervisors to appropriately delegate. In academic settings, IP causes more subjective distress in non-white groups than stress that comes from racial discrimination. Despite these many negative outcomes, IP does not easily fit into a diagnostic category, and so it is not always discussed or taught in an academic setting (outside of perhaps a lecture in medical school). However, because of the risk that IP can pose to anyone, at any point in one's career, and because of its prominence in popular culture, it is imperative that we are able to identify and address IP in our patients, our peers, our colleagues, and ourselves. This talk will provide an academic overview of this concept, risks for developing it, signs to identify it, ways to combat it, and how to psychiatrically treat it in therapy. Based off of a 2020 ACGME small group discussion outline, an experiential component ("think-pair-share") will be utilized to engage the audience in active learning. Popular media clips will be incorporated to capture the audience's attention, and when possible, the audience will be encouraged to share their own experiences in dealing with IP or caring for patients who are suffering from IP. Supervisors will also be given information on how to address IP with trainees using the ACGME recommendations.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the presentation, the audience will be able to define imposter phenomena, prevalence, and negative outcomes from it.

At the end of the presentation, the audience will be able to list 2 risk factors for experiencing imposter phenomena.

At the end of the presentation, the audience will be able to list 3 interventions to combat imposter phenomena.