Imposter Syndrome

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I had never heard of imposter phenomenon when I first entered OT school. Nonetheless, I had definitely experienced it before and would continue to throughout my graduate school journey. One instance of imposter phenomenon occurred in the summer before I came to UTHSC. I had taken a job as a tech at a developmental preschool back home. I was fresh out of college and was anxiously awaiting the results of my OTCAS application. In addition to my daily duties at the preschool, I was asked to serve as the volunteer coordinator of the facility's hippotherapy program on Tuesday nights. I jumped at the opportunity for overtime pay and exposure to such a unique form of OT and PT. At the same time, I had never even heard of this hippotherapy program and had no idea how it worked. The first assignment I was given involved creating an Excel sheet outlining the dimensions of the whiteboard I would use to write volunteer assignments on for each riding session. As a psychology major, SPSS was the closest thing I got to Excel, and I intended to keep it that way if I could. To say the least, I was feeling more and more like a phony as the time came to coordinate the volunteers that first night. Did I mention that volunteers were the sole workers (other than licensed PTs and OTs) at this facility? 

I reflect on this story to say that, although I felt very inadequate for my new role, I did possess the skills and abilities needed to perform the job well (I don't know why this was a surprise to me, considering I was asked to do the job. Haha!). I was a beginner, but I wasn't an imposter. I grew so much during those months and often received praise for my work. That experience was invaluable practice for fieldwork in OT school. According to the Clance IP Scale, I experience frequent feelings of imposter syndrome (score = 62). While this may be an inevitable part of being a high achiever, I have learned practical ways to cope with these feelings such as, practicing self-reflection, expanding my network, finding a mentor, creating and monitoring professional goals, releasing myself from professionalism, and intentionally taking time to do things I love and enjoy (Albanese, 2019). 

Albanese, S. (2019, January 31). Facing imposter syndrome as a new grad. Eyes On Eyecare.      https://eyesoneyecare.com/resources/facing-impostor-syndrome-new-grad/#:~:text=This%20can%20lead%20to%20a,as%20a%20first%2Dtime%20OT. 

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