Conquering Imposter Syndrome in Nursing

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Nursing is a rewarding and demanding profession, often requiring nurses to handle stressful situations and complex patients in high-pressure environments. However, for some nurses, imposter syndrome can add an extra layer of difficulty on top of the everyday challenges. Imposter syndrome is feeling like a fraud and a constant fear of being exposed as a phony in spite of evidence of success. In this post, I’ll talk about how nurses can recognize imposter syndrome and break free of its hold and feel confident in your practice.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is that little voice in your head that tries to convince you that you are a fraud and have no business doing what you have put so much time into learning and practicing. In this blog post I am going to talk about imposter syndrome in the field of nursing specifically Anyone can experiencing imposter syndrome in a number of areas of their lives though. Frustratingly enough.

For instance, check out my blog post about Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a Freelance Writer.

Imposter syndrome can manifest in a number of ways in nurses. From self-doubt and fear of failure, to perfectionism and the inability to take credit where credit is due. The first step in remediating imposter syndrome as a nurse is recognizing in what way you are experiencing it, so lets go into that little more.

Recognizing Signs of Imposter Syndrome in Nursing

Recognizing how imposter syndrome manifests within your nursing practice is the first step to remediating it. Just like in nursing care, you need to diagnose the problem through identifying symptoms. Then you can begin to treat and remediate.

Self- Doubt: Do you find yourself questioning your abilities as a nurse, despite the number of years you’ve spent in school and on the job training? Wondering if you will be capable of handling a particularly difficult patient assignment or situation, even though you know you’ve been thoroughly trained to handle this situation and then some. And could tell another nurse exactly what needs to be done if you were asked. Self-doubt may be how you are manifesting imposter syndrome in your practice as a nurse if so.

Fear of Failure: Do you feel a pit open up in your stomach when tasked with a particularly stressful assignment at work, not out of overwhelm or stress of the task itself? But because you are afraid that you will be pointed out as a fraud or as someone who does not belong in the role that you are in because of failing to complete the task in the expected manner. You may be battling a fear of failure if this is how you feel at work as a nurse.

Perfectionism: Do you often set a really high, possibly unrealistically high, bar for yourself in your nursing practice? Finding your self “failing” more often than not to reach this impossibly high standard that you’ve set for yourself? This could be your imposter syndrome manifestation.

Attributing Success to External Factors: When you get praise for a job well done by peers or superiors, do you immediately attribute the success to external factors? By saying things like “Oh, I was only able to care for such a difficult patient because of all the help I had from the nurses assistant.” While the attribute may be very true and valid, you are unable to accept that YOU did a good job in the role that YOU played individually. Modesty is one thing, but feeling successful internally and being able to accept and believe that you are capable is another thing entirely.

Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Now that you have a better idea of what imposter syndrome might look like in your life, we can now talk about what you need to do to overcome it and start believing in your own successes.

Self Awareness: This can look like journaling when you’re at home, and reflecting on your day and what emotions your experienced that we symptoms of your imposter syndrome. Sometimes looking at your own thoughts and emotions written down on paper in infant of you can hit differently than them just idly floating through your mind. Becoming self aware of your thoughts, feelings, and what drives them while you’re at work can help you to over come imposter syndrome.

Positive Self-Talk: Being your own cheerleader can help to mitigate feelings of self doubt and sometimes even the fear of failure. By overwhelming teh negative thoughts with positive ones, a total mindset shift can take place. Instead of thoughts like “I good nurse would have caught that issue sooner.” you can think “I caught that issue before any harm came to the patient, and for that I am a good nurse.”

Celebrate the Small Wins: A small win is still a win, and should be celebrated. This will help yo to become more comfortable with the idea of giving yourself praise for something you did. Rather than attracting your success to external factors.

Practice Self Compassion: You spend more time with and talk to yourself more than anyone else you encounter in life. It’s important that you are kind to yourself and prioritize self care. So that when any negative feed back or criticism may come your way at work, you can filter it through a barrier of self-compassion so that it will be better received and not send you deeper into imposter syndrome.

Conclusion

Nurses face a unique set of challenges, and imposter syndrome can make the daily work life even more challenging. Fortunately, by recognizing the signs of imposter syndrome and using these strategies, nurses can break free of its hold and start to move forward with confidence.

If you or someone you know is a nurse struggling with imposter syndrome, we urge you to reach out for support. There are many effective techniques and resources available to help nurses conquer imposter syndrome.