Imposter syndrome - Am I a fraud?

Abstract

1Rebecca Silver FdSc MSc RDN is a multi-award winning dental nurse. She has worked within the NHS and private dentistry as well as working with numerous dental specialists. She has obtained post-qualification certificates in Oral Health Education and Conscious Sedation and an MSc in Advanced and Specialist Healthcare (Applied Dental Professional Practice). syndrome affects high achievers who are unable to accept and rationalise their success. These achievers usually assign their accomplishments to luck instead of skill and are waiting to be exposed as a phony. Although imposter syndrome is not an official diagnosis, it is acknowledged as a very real form of specific high intellectual self-doubt. 2 The most common clinical symptoms described are ‘generalised anxiety, lack of self-confidence, depression, and a frustration related to inability to meet self-imposed standards of achievement’. 1 The number of sufferers vary between 9% and 82% depending on the type of research parameters. 3