Nurse Imposter Syndrome
Nurse Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever started a new job in a different specialty?
On the first couple days you feel like you don’t know anything and begin to wonder if you made the right decision?
I’ve been there!
The truth is, most nurses have! I’ll share my story and how I overcame it with you shortly.
Maybe you’re a new grad at your first job feeling overwhelmed and wondering if you have what it takes to be a nurse?
I remember how nervous I was when I first started! You aren’t alone!
Or maybe you work in nursing research?
Did you know Imposter Syndrome is pretty common in nursing research?
If you answered yes to any of those situations, you’re not the only one!
Nurse imposter syndrome is a real thing which can:
increase anxiety
create a negative mindset
and can even leave you questioning your abilities!
To fully understand nurse imposter syndrome, it’s important to start with the basics.
What is imposter syndrome?
How does that relate to nursing?
How to overcome imposter syndrome?
Hi I’m Christen
I was just a tired, exhausted, burned out nurse dreading work and imaging what I could do instead of nursing. It affected me professionally AND personally!
Now I help nurses struggling or wanting to prevent the struggle using the same strategies and tools I used to create a happier, healthier life.
Get your free 5 minute visualization to decrease your stress, increase your peace, and sleep better tonight….naturally!
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Believe it or not, this can happen in all areas of life. People can even struggle with imposter syndrome in relationships.
This blog is focused on how to deal with imposter syndrome at work, however once you understand the phenomenon you may be able to see how it creeps up outside of work as well!
In the 1970s, researchers at Georgia State University started to describe imposter syndrome by observing high achieving women in psychotherapy.
Research continued to grow from there and we’ve now learned imposter syndrome is a very real thing people of all walks of life experience.
Imposter syndrome is basically when you feel like a fraud.
You feel you’re not good enough to be where you are and even minimize the accomplishments you have. You may even feel like you got lucky or received special treatment to get where you are.
People dealing with this have a real fear are of being exposed as a fraud…even though they’re not.
Imposter Syndrome acts as a little mind monster that instills:
self-doubt
anxiety
inadequacy
can even be obsessed with perfectionism
No one is perfect and it often means people struggling with this likely have an unrealistic measurement of success.
The ironic part: this affects a lot of people described as “high achievers.” Some of the most accomplished people have felt this way at one point or another.
I know I have!
I was 10 years into nursing when I transitioned from working outside the hospital in acute rehab. to a step-down telemetry unit for a prestigious teaching hospital.
It wasn’t my first hospital job and I’d been very successful in my career prior to this as a traveler, relief charge, house supervisor, and well-respected among my colleagues.
However, I wanted to learn cardiology and I knew very little about it. My past experiences at this point were mainly in oncology, physical rehab., and the pain management side of neurology.
This step-down unit’s acuity was higher than traditional units and many of our patients would’ve been in ICU at other facilities. When I first got the job, I was so overwhelmed in orientation and really scared to take my rhythms test.
As I got closer to getting off orientation, I felt really nervous. I even told one of my preceptors that maybe I need more training.
I was really nervous about asking for more orientation because that’s looked down on in nursing. Usually people know when it’s close for you to come off orientation and if they still see you training, it can come with a negative stigma that you may not be a good fit and nurses wonder what’s wrong with you.
I felt like I didn’t belong, like I made a mistake, and I wasn’t smart enough to be there.
I was able to talk to one of my preceptors, Megan, and she was incredibly supportive. Hear how that interaction went further below.
For now, it’s important to realize the sneaky thing about imposter syndrome: it’s hard to see it rearing it’s ugly head in someone else.
It’s an internal struggle, so listening to what someone is saying becomes very important.
If you’re giving someone positive feedback and they respond with statements like:
“I was just lucky”
or
“well you know the boss had to give me the reward because there was no other candidates.”
These statements could be a sign someone is struggling with imposter syndrome. But…how do you know if it’s just imposter syndrome?
How do you know if you’re not up to the task of being a nurse or working on a certain unit? How do you know if it’s imposter syndrome or true incompetence?
Imposter Syndrome at Work:
Imposter Syndrome vs Incompetence
Imposter Syndrome at Work:
Imposter Syndrome vs Incompetence
It’s important to understand these differences because imposter syndrome at new job is a big aspect of nurse imposter syndrome.
Just because you’re a new nurse or new to an area of nursing and feel like a fraud or a failure doesn’t mean you actually are. It certainly doesn’t make you incompetent either.
Television and entertainment can be deceiving at times as well.
I don’t watch medical dramas anymore, but from the way things are portrayed it seems one nurse just knows everything about every patient.
You have a patient in an ICU taken care of by a nurse, then another patient in the ER and miraculously that same nurse is there, and another patient at a doctor’s office and that same nurse manages to make time for that appointment as well.
We all know this isn’t real, but some nurses will put expectations on themselves that they have to know everything and if they don’t, they’re not good enough.
They think they have to be perfect…(remember perfectionism from above?)
Other nurses mistake imposter syndrome for incompetence.
The dictionary defines incompetent as: lacking qualification or ability, incapable. A mentally deficient person, a person lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.
If you graduated nursing school and passed your boards, you’re competent.
You’ve proven you’re capable, you have a license and degree both confirming you’re qualified, not mentally deficient, and you’re legally allowed to work as a nurse.
Just because you’re new to an area and are learning, doesn’t make you incompetent. You learn as you work in different areas.
A new ICU nurse isn’t incompetent, they’re learning. Just like a new med/surg nurse. Med/Surg is a great way to build a knowledge base because you do see a little of everything. However,
If you’re sitting there thinking “but you don’t understand, I work with nurses that know everything!”
I can tell you with 100% certainty that they don’t know everything because no one does and no one’s perfect.
I would imagine they’ve probably been a nurse longer than you’ve been alive and they have a wealth of knowledge to pull from.
I’ll even tell you a secret about those nurses, they started where you’re at as well. They weren’t born knowing everything. They had to start and learn as they grow as well.
Now that we know you’re competent, let’s take a closer look at the symptoms of imposter syndrome…
Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome
Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome
If you think you may be struggling with this, then rest assured it’s highly unlikely anyone but you is aware since people can’t read your mind.
If you’re asking yourself how to help someone with imposter syndrome then it’s important to know what to look for.
Since everyone is different, this may vary, but here are a few examples imposter syndrome symptoms:
Overthinking
Feeling anxious
Dismissing positive feedback
Being critical of yourself (has anyone ever said you’re hard on yourself?)
Self-sabotage your success
Having an unrealistic measurements of success
Being an overachiever
Feeling unworthy of success
Afraid of being called a fraud
Some people trying to deal with imposter syndrome struggle with feeling confident, however some people will compensate by being overly confident.
When I experienced Imposter Syndrome as an experienced nurse, some of the things I would think to myself were:
”Maybe I made the wrong choice coming here.”
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“I didn’t realize there would be so much, I feel like a new nurse all over again.”
“I feel so stupid, like I don’t know anything.”
“I can tell they don’t trust me, if only they saw me at my jobs before they would know I’m not an idiot.”
As a new nurse imposter syndrome can hit a little differently, but you’re not alone. Many people and nurses struggle with this at first.
I’m going to give you some tips to get off that hamster wheel and start moving forward!
If you’re a nurse educator or a preceptor that’s worried your staff or colleague may have imposter syndrome as a nurse, it’ll take a little effort on your part to learn what to look for.
As you can see, there really aren’t a lot of physical signs. A checklist for imposter syndrome isn’t like looking at someone and being able to tell they’re blood sugar is low or they’re having trouble breathing.
However, knowing the different types of imposter syndrome may be helpful in figuring out who could be struggling with it and where to focus your attention.
Let’s look at the different types of imposter syndrome…
Feel like you’re dealing with Imposter Syndrome and want support? Contact me here and we’ll set a time to connect!
Types of Imposter Syndrome
Types of Imposter Syndrome
In The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It, Dr. Valerie Young discusses 5 different types of imposter syndrome.
The Expert
This person has to know everything about everything on the subject and aren’t satisfied until they do. They spend a lot of time distracted by researching information about the subject. The big problem with this is completing projects and tasks becomes more difficult because of all the time spent researching.
Nurse Example
This can be a nurse who gets a patient with a diagnosis they’ve never heard of. While it’s important to seek out education and information to become knowledgeable and be able to answer questions, the tasks associated with caring for the patient are placed on the back burner.
Before you know it time management has gone out the window, the nurse has fallen behind, and becomes overwhelmed with their task list. On top of it, this nurse failed to learn everything about everything on this particular diagnosis (unrealistic measurement of success), is now behind, and feels like a failure.
The Perfectionist
This person is exactly as it sounds, they want to be perfect. They aren’t satisfied with anything less.
This person has anxiety, doubt, and worry which get worse when they have extreme goals they can’t achieve.
Their focus is on areas they could’ve done better instead of celebrating their accomplishments.
Nurse Example
This nurse always dreads coming to work. She’s nervous she’s going to forget something and doesn’t feel she’s a good nurse even though she’s a high performer and receives nothing but positive feedback.
She receives her yearly review from her manager that demonstrates excellent feedback, she gets a raise, and learns they want her to start precepting newer nurses. The manager notices how hard she is on herself and gently encourages her to work on her self-confidence as a nurse because she’s doing well.
Instead of being pleased with her accomplishments, she’ll start tell her manager the ways she could’ve done better, unsure if she’s a good choice to precept new nurses, and begin to internally worry about how to be confident.
Natural Geniuses
This person is a quick learner. New skills come easy to them but feel weak or shame if they encounter a goal that’s too hard. They don’t realize that sometimes achieving goals involves a struggle.
Nurse Example
A new grad nurse whose worked as a tech or medic for many years. They’re very familiar with the flow of the hospital, how things work, and are great at spotting when a patient is taking a turn for the worse.
After working a year, this nurse moves to a cardiac floor and is being trained on how to care for LVADs. They aren’t familiar with this device, are struggling to learn how to manage it, perform successful dressing changes, and care for the patient.
This nurse starts to doubt themselves because it’s taking them longer than normal to learn. They start to think they’re weak. Maybe they shouldn’t have moved units, even talk about going back to their previous unit, and they feel like a new nurse all over again.
The Soloist
Or as Dr. Young describles it a “rugged individualist.” This person wants to work alone. In fact, they’re likely to turn down help. They feel no one will realize they’re a fraud or incompetent if they work alone.
They don’t want the help because they need to prove themselves. This is someone that could appear confident but really aren’t.
Nurse Example
I think you’d agree with me when I say, these are the most dangerous types of nurses. I’ll never forget one night a colleague of mine had a student with her.
She offered him all types of experiences and he sat at the desk and would tell her “Oh, I already know how to do that” or “I’ve done that before, I’m good.” My initial reaction was he’s going to be a really lazy person, but as I write this I now realize he could’ve just been scared.
If you’re in healthcare and you identify with this, know you’re not alone. We’ve all felt this way at one point or another.
Trust me when I tell you people will respect you more if you ask then if you don’t.
The quickest way for someone to feel like you’re a fraud is if you come across confident and then have a near miss or accidentally hurt someone. This will make your imposter syndrome worse.
It’ll take a long time to recover from and you don’t want to live with that guilt. Confidence doesn’t come from the outside, it starts within. Competence leads to confidence.
And finally....
The Superheroes
This person is classic in healthcare (in my opinion). They put an extreme amount of effort in to excel, and are tow the line of being a workaholic.
It can lead to burnout, and we all know the physical and mental effects that has. Not to mention how it affects your relationships with others.
Nurse Example
It seems like this nurse works every day. They’re at the hospital more than management, they work long hours, and it’s hard for them to leave at the end of their shift. There’s always something more that has to be done.
How would the unit function without them?
Not to mention the classes they’re going to, full-time of course, because they want to get it over and done with. They never see their spouse, kids, and don’t really need all that much sleep because they can sleep in 3 years when school’s over!
Oh, and don’t forget all the amazing potluck food they made from scratch after coordinating a colleague’s retirement party. Oh, and the donuts they dropped off at work on their day off.
This person is usually an amazing nurse and if you were sick, you’d hope they were working to take care of you.
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
Can you relate?
Now that you understand imposter syndrome and how it relates to nursing, you may be asking yourself things like:
How to deal with imposter syndrome?
What to say to someone with Imposter Syndrome?
How to stop imposter syndrome?
Because we’re human, the fact is this can creep in at anytime. While there may not be a one size fits all imposter syndrome treatment, there are things you can do. Check out the 5 things that helped me below.
If you’re asking yourself how to treat imposter syndrome, it’s important to know that it’s not a psychiatric illness.
It’s not a mental illness and it’s not something that you can’t overcome.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
While it’s no secret to work in healthcare you have to develop some thick skin. However, we can’t use that as an excuse to allow negative or toxic environments.
I believe there’s a balance between thick skin but also having a safe environment that’s supportive to one another.
Factors that contribute to imposter syndrome are harsh work environments:
working short
toxic leadership (nursing politics)
highly competitive environments (ICU, ER, Trauma)
perfectionism
…..among other things.
While you can’t control hospital politics or the entire healthcare systems with all it’s flaws, you can control yourself.
You can control the energy and mentality you bring to the space you enter and you can also control who/what you let into your same space.
This is part of being empowered.
You don’t need to bend everytime the wind blows.
You’re powerful.
The healthcare system doesn’t get to determine your happiness.
I specialize in guiding nurses to personal empowerment!
Below are 5 things that helped me when I was dealing with imposter syndrome:
I found people who knew more than me... (even if I felt I was going to look stupid)
Remember when I was new to that step-down tele unit and I felt like an imposter? One of the best decisions I made was to talk to the preceptor I trusted the most.
Megan was incredibly experienced, had a wealth of knowledge, and was very encouraging when I felt like I wasn’t ready to go on my own. She said that it’s normal on that type of unit and she felt the overall orientation period was too short.
Although I chose not to ask about extending my orientation for other reasons, I did take time for proactive education.
I didn’t need to know everything about everything, but I started to look up different diagnoses and treatment plans for patients I had. Luckily this was a teaching hospital so I had many, many conversations with residents, interns, and monitor techs about patients and heart rhythms.
If you’re at a teaching hospital, don’t be afraid to do this! These residents are learning and most of them love educating and talking to you about what they’re thinking. It is incredibly helpful for you AND them.
Megan also gave me a website that had so much information and it really helped me put all the pieces together.
For those of you new to cardiology or if you’ve been working in it for awhile but never took a deep dive, this website is amazing and I encourage you to check it out: https://medmovie.com/
Their cardiovascular library is amazing and was so helpful to me, especially when I was teaching patients.
2. I asked for challenges
Any new specialty I went to I would do this. I remember I did this A LOT when I went into case management.
If you’ve never worked as an actual case manager, you don’t really know what they do. You may think you know or have an idea of what it is, but I promise it’s whole new world of things you’ve never heard of.
It takes about a good year before you feel fully comfortable in the role.
When I was new, different complex patient situations were overwhelming. Even arranging medical equipment that seems simple, like oxygen, is a whole process and can be overwhelming.
I would ask my partner if I could have these patients. Not all of them but I would make sure I had a good amount so I could learn the steps and processes of how to manage the unique cases.
The ICU is another great example of this. Sometimes the only way to know how to care for complex patients is to just be their nurse.
You have to just get in there and get your hands dirty. With help from more experienced colleagues, it will start to build your confidence because you know you can do it.
You’ll feel less and less like an imposter because you’re proving to yourself and others you can do it.
3. Accomplishment Box
I have a little box to remember what people have said to me and what I’ve done. It helps on days when you feel like nothing is good enough.
I also keep positive notes from supervisors, people I’ve helped and cared for, and things I’ve done in there because it’s so easy to forget how far we’ve come.
This can help you change your focus from negative to positive.
4. Journal
Journaling is one of the modules in Christen’s Bedside Nurse Survival System. Not only is it a proven modality for burnout, but it’s also great for problem solving and getting things out of your head so you can decrease overthinking.
Journaling can also offer you different perspectives on situations that you may not have seen before.
It’ll also allow to you see the kinds of things you’re saying to yourself so you can catch that inner critic before it gets out of hand.
5. Leaned on my support system and experience
My preceptors on the step-down unit were amazing and I learned so much from them. As hard as it was, they made me a better nurse and set me up for a lot of future success.
There were nurses that weren’t as pleasant or helpful, but I tried not to focus on them.
The other thing I did was lean on my strengths and what I did know. My experience in acute rehabilitation was actually incredibly helpful when I worked with CABG and post-op patients.
I was able to encourage and help them in a unique way because of my past work experience even though my cardiac experience was still being developed.
If you’re or a colleague you know is struggling with imposter syndrome, burnout, or nicelife in general-you’re in the perfect place! I’ve been there and offer more personalized guidance and support.
Simply contact me here and we’ll set a time to connect!
In just 5 minutes you can:
Feel balanced and at peace by turning off overthinking and 2nd guessing yourself so you can increase your confidence and feel like yourself again.
Decrease stress and anxiety by using the very same tool I did so you can finally stop tossing and turning and get some good sleep tonight….naturally!
Practice 1 secret to improving boundaries and decreasing burnout: letting go of what isn’t yours to carry so you can decrease overwhelm and protect your space.
I was just a bedside nurse, exhausted, stuck, and feeling dead inside. Dreading both home and work I dreamed of having a life that I loved. After turning that dream into reality, I now help women connect with their inner power and step into their dynamic, authentic self to create a life they love.
I made a promise to myself at 30 that each year would be better than the last…..and I’ve been able to keep that promise!