16// Imposter Syndrome: What is it & Is it keeping your career stagnat as an Experienced Nurse?

Ever felt like a fraud at work or doubted your skills despite your achievements? You're not alone 
I'm unmasking the imposter syndrome that plagues so many in the nursing profession, working at the bedside and in clinical areas. 

As your host, Bonnie Meadows, I'm guiding you through the theory and also dissecting the root causes of imposter syndrome.  From family influences to perfectionism, I am providing you with the tools to recognize and tackle these challenges head-on. 

This episode is not just about identifying the self-sabotaging behaviors but also about crafting your own narrative of success and understanding the psychology that underpins our fears.

Remember to subscribe for more empowering content. Our journey continues in the next episode, where we'll tackle strategies to overcome the specific types of imposter syndrome. Join us as we lift each other in our professional growth, staying true to the nursing calling without the weight of fear or doubt.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Thank you, a better person, a better leader, a better professional and, most of all, a better nurse. I'm your host, bonnie Meadows, a career coach and a clinical nurse specialist with over 18 years of experience in healthcare and nursing. It's my passion to help experienced nurses develop their careers to impact healthcare and their communities. Hello and welcome back to the Ambitious Nurse podcast. I am so excited today to be bringing you a new subject. It's under the umbrella of what I've been talking about recently, which is your nursing career growth path or your nursing career path, but just in general, growing in your nursing career and what are those steps that you need to take in order to really figure out what is your next step in your nursing career.

Speaker 1: 1:22

You have been working at the bedside or working in the hospital as an experienced nurse and you are feeling stuck. You're feeling frustrated. You feel like there's time for a change. You feel like you're in a different mindset than the people that might be around you and the typical ways that we would usually grow or advance as a nurse you're not sure of. You're not sure if you're really pulled towards being an NP. You're not really sure, or you know, I don't want to be an NP. I don't want to be a nurse manager, I don't want to be a CRNA. Or, you know, you do want to be an NP. Or we have some that listen and you already have a master's degree. You might already be a nurse practitioner. You might have a master's degree in nursing education or an MBA. You already have a graduate level degree or a doctorate level degree and you're still looking for ways to expand and grow, because the degree only gives you the options. It doesn't put the experience and the job in your hand. You still need to figure out what is that path, because the blessing in nursing is that there's so many options.

Speaker 1: 2:42

So when I was in graduate school, my first master's program and my first master's degree is a master's of science in nursing and health systems management, which is another way of saying nursing leadership or nursing administration, all of those things. Yes, I have two master's degrees. It's all good. I love learning, but one of my professors whom I loved dearly, she actually made me a lover of theory, but because she was my theory teacher and this was the class that she asked the question in and she asked the question of the class what is the nurse's role and what does the nurse do. Well, you know we had all kinds of answers.

Speaker 1: 3:40

The majority of us in there were if not all, were bachelor's prepared nurses and we were looking to get our master's degree. So we're like and the majority of us more than likely, either still worked at the bedside or have just come off of being at the bedside. You know there are some who were in leadership and they have a bachelor's degree and they're required to have a master's degree within a certain time. But there were a good amount of us who had a bachelor's degree looking to grow in leadership. So we were really close to the clinical side of things and so, oh, the nurse takes the blood pressure and the nurse takes vital signs, we give medications, you know all of those things and she said those are all orders from the doctor. That's practicing medicine. What does the nurse do? What does the nurse bring to the table? What specifically does nursing do? That is outside of what the doctor has ordered them to do. What is nursing practice? What is the practice of nursing? What is the thing that you do? That's different from everyone else, and recently that made me think about the nurse in general that works in the hospital, that works at the bedside, or either that just works in the hospital setting. You might not necessarily work in the hospital setting, you might just be in a clinical setting that may not be in the hospital. And we have trouble elevating in practice or moving away from the bedside or moving away from our thought process of tactical things, because we don't see ourselves as a separate entity from the task and the orders that are done on a daily basis, and that then leads to a lack of confidence in other areas. Especially when you're trying to grow, you tend to start to limit yourself, you talk yourself out of things, and that also is where imposter syndrome sets in, and so I believe every experienced nurse should know how to identify and overcome imposter syndrome. So in this episode you'll learn what is imposter syndrome, how do you know if you have it. Versus lack of confidence, versus being an introvert, versus just being plain scared to step out of your comfort zone and into a new career space.

Speaker 1: 6:17

Nurses are such brilliant individuals. We find solutions in our work every day. We have a lot to contribute to the profession of health care and we should not take a backseat to anyone. Our voice is just as worthy to be heard as the next profession. We have more nurses in this world than any other health care professional. Think about it More nurses than any other healthcare professional. Think about it More nurses than any other healthcare professional. We are it. We are it. Patients come to the hospital. They come for nursing care. That's what they come for. Yes, we need our partners to work with us, but they come for nursing care. We need to act like we have the power that we possess. We need to act like it. So let's just take a look at what is imposter syndrome.

Speaker 1: 7:22

So the definition of imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony.

Speaker 1: 7:28

You feel as though at any moment, you're going to be found out as a fraud, like you don't belong where you are and you only got there through luck. It can affect anyone and it is described as having deep feelings of unworthiness and doubt of one's capabilities, coupled with the fear of being found out or exposed as a fraud. It's accompanied by an inability to acknowledge one's accomplishments. And that takes me back to we don't understand and we don't know the power that we possess and we haven't assessed the skills that we have. That can translate beyond what we currently do in day-to-day work, and we have to, and that's why I took you through the exercise in the last couple of episodes to remind you that you really your first step, like if you're really wanting to make really sound decisions regarding your career, instead of just applying for 50 jobs and then you get into something and you're like, ah, this is not it.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Now there's a time and a place for that. There's a time and a place for you need to try out some things, because you have no experience in anything else but what you do. You have no exposure and I'm not going to say experience exposure to anything else other than what you do on a daily basis and you look around you and those things that you are exposed to you don't want to do when you look around you and in your environment, and those things that you are exposed to you don't want to do when you look around you and in your environment, and those things that you're exposed to you really don't have a desire to do, then you really need to start exploring other job opportunities. But even that exploration should be very strategic. It should have some logic behind it, it should have some footing on it, based on your passions, those things that excite you about being a nurse or about being in health care.

Speaker 1: 9:36

So some of the common signs of imposter syndrome include an inability to realistically assess your competence and skills. So if you went through the practice in my very last episode where I laid out common questions that I ask people to help them to do their self-assessment, to develop self-awareness, if you had trouble with that exercise, then one, you need to come and sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with me, a coaching call with me. And two, that tells me that you are not giving yourself the credit that you need to give yourself, because if you've been practicing for at least, at the very least three years, you've got something to contribute to another area of health care. If that is so, your desire. Or you've got something to contribute to grow, even where you are. If you're wanting to do more, even where you are, you have something to contribute.

Speaker 1: 10:48

Another common sign of imposter syndrome is attributing your success to external factors. Oh, you do so and such and such like. Somebody tells you you do something well, or such and such did like they're giving you credit for something. No, that wasn't me. Like such and such did such and such. You know they were the ones that did it? No, you did it. You came up with the idea and then you helped other people carry it out. It wasn't an external factor. That's the gift. Recognize the gift that is within you.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Berating your performance? Oh no, it wasn't that big of a deal. Oh, you need to give yourself credit. I didn't realize I could do that. Awesome, I really had fun doing that. I really need to develop that thing. Give yourself the credit. Don't berate your performance.

Speaker 1: 11:45

Fear that you won't live up to the expectations. What if I get the job and I don't do a good job? I mean, honestly, that's likely to happen in any situation. Sometimes, depending on how you're set up in the position, what does your leadership look like? I mean, there's no guarantee, or you could be doing all the things that you really need to do to live up the expectations, up to the expectations, and the expectations are unreasonable. I'm just giving you some nuggets on here's why, here's where it falls in, here's where it happens and also the realistic side of it might happen. But there are usually some reasons why Over achieving like, oh, I've got to have all of the credentials, I have to have all of the credentials.

Speaker 1: 12:43

I have to have all of the things I have to have, over and above all of the things that are needed for that position. Before I get in it I need to have all of the learning I need to know. Give yourself some room to grow in that thing. Now I do say this as a caveat. That doesn't mean that if you are a nurse working on a unit and you decide you want to go and get a master's degree because you're like I want to grow, I want to do something different, so let me go and get a master's degree, and then you decide you want to apply for a nurse manager position at a smaller hospital. You might work at a larger hospital I could do a nurse manager at a smaller hospital but you've yet to work on a project, lead a project.

Speaker 1: 13:26

You've yet to lead an education session. You've yet to lead um. Like you've yet to work on a staffing. I mean just you've let. You've yet to leave. Like you haven't't led a committee, like you have no footing of what you've led. You may have sparingly been a charge nurse. Let's not. Let's get some footing under us. That's not overachieving, that's. I've got a degree, but I don't have the experience going with it. At least some experience. Now, those who are in that position where you have an accelerated BSN or a BSN as your second degree and you've been in leadership in other areas of your career prior to nursing, that's a different story. That's a totally different story because that leadership experience translates and so I don't want you to get into imposter syndrome, thinking oh well, I've never led in nursing. No, your leadership experience matters, irregardless of I've been in leadership since I was in high school and I can guarantee you high school and I can guarantee you even those skills that I developed being captain of the cheerleading squad, those skills that I've developed being colonel like top leader in my junior ROTC I still use them today.

Speaker 1: 14:59

So just saying Next common sign that you have imposter syndrome, sabotaging your own success, that is one thing that you easily slip into and I pause not to judge, but I pause to say we sometimes do it and we don't know that we're doing it. We don't know that we're self-sabotaging when we show up late, when we're unprepared, when someone is asking you what's wrong, when you've shown and proven yourself to do things just differently, that's when you're starting to why can't I do this, what's wrong? Checkers you really might be self-sabotaging, self-doubt and then setting very challenging goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short those are some signs that you have imposter syndrome. So who gets imposter syndrome? Everybody, unless you're a narcissist.

Speaker 1: 16:13

Imposter syndrome is one of those things it's kind of hard to get away from. Now you can say and I've heard one of my leaders not someone that I directly report to, but a leader I respect for sure say imposter syndrome is not a thing to her. You're just afraid to do the thing and you just need to do it. So, to some degree, I agree. However, sometimes it's just good to put a name on it. Agree, I agree. However, sometimes it's just good to put a name on it. You know, just like how we teach kids like more now to name your feelings.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Sometimes we need to name the thing of this is imposter syndrome, because you need to know whether you need to work on imposter syndrome or whether you just have a plain lack of confidence and we need to build up your confidence. Those are two different things. Or you're hiding behind your introvertedness, which again can sometimes. Sometimes we do that because we have a lack of confidence. Sometimes we need to be careful about saying oh, I don't do that because I'm an introvert, versus really it's an issue of you having a lack of confidence, versus really it's an issue of you having a lack of confidence. And so everybody, unless you're a narcissist, gets imposter syndrome. Even the most accomplished get imposter syndrome, because it's that more so. That's where that you have all of the credentials, but will I live up to the expectation of what they're expecting me to do? And then it can affect anyone, no matter their social status, work background, skill level or degree of expertise.

Speaker 1: 17:54

So I want to end with this question because this is part of a series, but I want to end with this what causes imposter syndrome? Now, before I go into that, I will say in my next episode there will be two more episodes, and the next one we'll talk about the type of imposter syndrome. So I've talked about the common signs that you have imposter syndrome, but I'm going to dig into that a little bit deeper, because I did my research and found that there are five types. Now, this is just the one source that I found. Somebody else might find other types, but I found those five types of imposter syndrome to be very true and to be what I have seen in nursing, and I'll provide you with some examples. I'm so excited to talk about that.

Speaker 1: 18:46

But first we needed to clear this baseline of what is it and what causes it. And so one the first thing is usually family upbringing. Research suggests that upbringing and family dynamics can play an important role in your development of imposter syndrome. Parenting styles characterized by controlling or overprotective may contribute to the development of imposter syndrome in children, because you may have just not had that ability to go out and try things. The one thing there are several things that I can credit to my mom, but the one thing that I can credit to her is that she always pushed. She didn't push me to do things, but she allowed me. Whatever it was that I said I wanted to do, as long as it was a growth opportunity. She was like, okay, well, let's make it happen, even if we didn't have the money to do it. So not giving that advice, but what I'm saying is the whole point of it is you may have come from an upbringing that was a little bit more protective and said, oh well, you shouldn't do that. Or oh well, you shouldn't do that because such and such and such and it breeds. It sometimes tends to breed imposter syndrome. So an example is you might have come from a family that highly values achievement or had parents who flipped back and forth between offering praise and being critical, and so studies suggest that people who come from families characterized by high levels of conflict, with low amounts of support, may be more likely to experience imposter syndrome.

Speaker 1: 20:35

Next, and this is where the Ambition Nurse podcast comes in and my whole mission and value sets on this one cause is new work or slash school opportunities. I want you to make the best confident decision and not stay stuck in where you are if you desire to grow in your nursing career. We all benefit when you are your best you when you decide to grow. I was talking to some nurses at the bedside one day and I said we have to recognize when it's time for us to leave a position, because you staying is preventing someone else from being able to have the opportunity to leave to do that thing, and you're also hindering your own growth, which it'll sustain you for a little while. You can resist it for a little while, but after a while it's going to look like your time is up and you need to do something different, and some of you, your time might be up and you might need to move on, but you're refusing to move on. But I'm just going again. It is my mission to help you to make good decisions and to have the confidence to take the next best step in your career and to understand the possibilities of what you can do, because really the possibilities are kind of endless Like they're just creating new health care and nursing jobs every day. So what you see today might not even be in existence two years from now, or what you want now, that position that you desire now, might not be developed until one or two years from now. Now might not be developed until one or two years from now. Okay, that's so.

Speaker 1: 22:46

Starting or entering in back to causes for imposter syndrome. New work or school opportunities, starting or entering in a new role can trigger imposter syndrome and make you feel as though you're not capable. So next we have personality. Certain personality traits have also been linked to a higher risk of experiencing imposter syndrome and in my next episode I'm going to go into a few characteristics that play into that as I discuss the types of imposter syndrome. Low self-efficacy how many of y'all remember the theorist who really focused on self-efficacy? I can't even remember her name, but I might have her name at the next podcast. I might have her name. But low self-efficacy is a common contributor or a cause for imposter syndrome, and self-efficacy refers to your belief in your ability to succeed in any given situation.

Speaker 1: 23:47

Perfectionism If you've been listening to a few of my episodes, you will know that I have addressed perfectionism in some of my podcast episodes because I know that that's what gets in a lot of people's way of growing in their nursing career. So you might think that there is some perfect script for conversations and that you can't say the wrong thing or you can't do the wrong thing, or I don't want to apply for the wrong job, or what if I make the wrong thing? Or you can't do the wrong thing, or I don't want to apply for the wrong job, or what if I make the wrong decision and I go in the wrong direction? That's why there's pivoting. That's why they're stopping and pausing. That's why there is I'm going to take a break. I'm going to take a break. There's grace for you pausing, praying and making a better decision when you feel like this might not have been the right decision.

Speaker 1: 24:48

I've had to do that, didn't want to do it because I didn't want to be seen as that type of person who may have left a role quickly or whatever the case may be, but I had to follow where I believed God was leading me to and I don't think that any decision is really a bad decision. For the most part, we really try our best to make good decisions when we're making moves and it just turns out to be a bad situation. There's learning in that. There's so many lessons in that. You're like Bonnie, I don't really want to go through those lessons. I know we're going to have to go through them in life, so you might as well just you know, do it, get it over with and then just keep it moving. So don't let perfectionism be your kryptonite in causing imposter syndrome.

Speaker 1: 25:41

Most people who are dealing with the perfectionism probably have trouble asking for help from others and you may procrastinate due to your own high standards. Oh, I don't see like the perfect job just yet. I know in my role as a clinical nurse specialist. Most people they see the role and they like it, but the first thing they think is oh, but there are no jobs out there for that. And what I tell them is well, apply for it and you would get the degree anyway. Because, for one, the master's degree alone will give you more options. Two, you may be able to convince someone along the way to develop the position. As you are working on projects you may help them. You may be able to help them to see the need. And if you're not able to help them to see the need, you can best believe you will more than likely find an opportunity to use your skills as a clinical nurse specialist. So if that's the route you really want to go, then do it. That's just that's perfectionism to me of you don't want to go for that degree because you don't see the exact position that's available for that thing.

Speaker 1: 26:59

Neuroticism is another cause. Neuroticism is one of the big five personality dimensions that is linked to higher levels of anxiety, insecurity, tension and guilt. And lastly this last one, I can see why also social anxiety. And lastly this last one, I can see why also social anxiety, imposter syndrome and social anxiety overlap. Social anxiety can make someone feel as if they don't belong in performance situations. I don't like to network. Imposter syndrome can slip in right there, because you might have a little bit of social anxiety.

Speaker 1: 27:37

I was speaking on a topic called the introverted leader. It was a shared topic between me and an HR person within my organization Loved it because I am an introverted leader. Most people might not think so, but I would rather just work in the background. I would rather just work in the background. So we were having this whole conversation about the introverted leader and I said, when you go into situations like that, referring to networking, I walk into rooms.

Speaker 1: 28:14

I love networking now, absolutely love it. Love networking now, absolutely love it. It is a learned skill, but I've learned to walk into rooms with the top of my mind thinking who can I serve? Who can I connect? Who can I get to know I might need them later on? Or who can I bring a smile to their face? Who can I bring my joy? Or who can I bring a smile to their face? Who can I bring my joy, the joy that I have? Who can I give some of that to, or connect with somebody else who has the same joy as me? That's what I think about when I go into networking situations how can I help? Who can I serve? Who can I lift up? And if I make a connection, I make a connection, I make a connection. If I don't, I don't. It's all good, but at least I've gotten to know people. I know their faces, I know where to find you, all of that.

Speaker 1: 29:14

So that's just a way to think about getting over that social anxiety when it comes to imposter syndrome, just thinking about who can you serve, and even thinking about that in your nursing career. If you feel called to serve in more ways than what you are doing right now, what you are doing right now, then you feel called to grow and you have no other choice but to do so. You can't not do the thing because if you don't you'll be mad at yourself because somebody else is going to be doing it. Do the thing, regardless of when you decide to do it, whether it be two years from now or 10 years from now, but don't not do it and live in regret. That's all I'm going to say for today.

Speaker 1: 30:05

Stay tuned for the episode next week where we talk about the types of imposter syndrome and we dig a little bit deeper so that you can identify. We've already identified some signs, some causes. So if you're dealing with imposter syndrome, let that sit in your back pocket. I'm going to dig a little bit deeper and then I will provide some ways for you to. If you find that you are a certain type, I will also be providing ways for you to figure out how to overcome being that type, or some tactical things you can do Until next time. See you later.

Speaker 1: 30:46

Thanks for joining us this week on the Ambitious Nurse Podcast. To review the show notes and any links mentioned in today's episode, please go to theambitiousnursepodcastcom. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow or subscribe so you don't miss a future episode. Also, please consider leaving a rating, review and or comment about what you want to hear. This helps more nurses, just like you find this podcast. Thank you for joining me, bonnie Meadows, on the Ambitious Nurse Podcast. I look forward to chatting with you the next time and remember you don't have to grow your career alone. As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another. Thank you for letting me sharpen you as you take this knowledge to sharpen the next.