| dc.description.abstract | Background: Acceptance into U.S. MD-PhD dual-degree programs is highly competitive, and the lengthy training
program requires transitioning between multiple phases (pre-clinical-, PhD-research-, and clinical-training phases),
which can be stressful. Challenges faced during MD-PhD training could exacerbate self-doubt and anxiety. Impostor
phenomenon is the experience of feeling like a fraud, with some high-achieving, competent individuals attributing
their successes to luck or other factors rather than their own ability and hard work. To our knowledge, impostor phenomenon among MD-PhD trainees has not been described. This study examined impostor phenomenon experiences
during MD-PhD training and reasons trainees attributed to these feelings.
Methods: Individuals in science and medicine felds participated in an online survey that included the 20-item
Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS); higher scores (range 20–100) indicate more frequent impostor phenomenon. Some respondents who reported experiencing impostor phenomenon also voluntarily completed a semistructured interview, sharing experiences during training that contributed to feelings of impostor phenomenon.
Interview transcripts were coded and analysed using the constant comparative method and analytic induction to
identify themes.
Results: Of 959 survey respondents (students and professionals in science and medicine), 13 MD-PhD students
and residents completed the survey, nine of whom (fve male, four female; four white, fve other race-ethnicity) also
completed an interview. These participants experienced moderate-to-intense scores on the CIPS (range: 46–96). Four
themes emerged from the interview narratives that described participants’ experiences of IP: professional identity
formation, fear of evaluation, minority status, and, program-transition experiences. All reported struggling to develop
a physician-scientist identity and lacking a sense of belonging in medicine or research.
Conclusions: Impostor experiences that MD-PhD participants attributed to bias and micro-aggressions in social
interactions with peers, faculty, and patients challenged their professional identity formation as physician-scientists. It
is important to further examine how MD-PhD-program structures, cultures, and social interactions can lead to feelings
of alienation and experiences of impostor phenomenon, particularly for students from diverse and underrepresented
populations in medicine.
Keywords: Medical education, MD-PhD training, Physician-scientist, Impostor phenomenon, bias and microaggressions, Clinical-scientist, Professional identity formation | en_US |
