The (dis)honesty behind imposter syndrome
Shreya Salunkhay
President, Curtin Association of Medical Students (CAMS)
As medical students, we are in a never-ending marathon. Checkpoints pass us by – OSCEs, rotations, assessments – but the finish line moves further back after each accomplishment. In this eternal race, who wins?
Maybe it’s easier to quantify who doesn’t. If you are behind by a PBL, tough luck. If you hesitate in your patient consultations, too bad. If you haven’t got a simultaneous research project going, hurry up! If you spend all of medical school playing catch-up, how will you become a competent doctor?
These are the insidious seeds that are planted in many of us. Self-doubt wraps its roots around unsuspecting students, holding us back. When everyone else is vying for the same goals, even the starting line shifts – until you feel like you’re alone, miles behind.
Imposter syndrome doesn’t just appear the minute you set foot into the world of medicine. It is a consequence of the unspoken expectations woven into medical education. Doctors aren’t just clinicians, but advocates, educators, and more – and so we must not just be studious, but spend years building each intangible skill.
Every conversation results in a reassessment of yourself within your peers. Sometimes you fall behind, sometimes you move ahead; but the race never stops. Burnout becomes a hushed prophecy, kept in the recesses of our minds, lest it afflicts us. When you’re fighting to belong, you simply can’t afford to burn out.
In this battlefield, our greatest challenge isn’t the workload or the competition, it’s honesty – the ability to be transparent with our peers.
Medicine attracts a specific type of person – the independent, type A, maybe slightly neurotic. We’re so used to doing everything on our own and finding our own solutions – it’s unnatural to admit, “I need help,” especially when it seems like everyone else is doing fine.
Imagine hundreds of students, moulded from this very clay. Vulnerability means baring your cracks to the heat of those who appear to be performing better than you, with the risk of being shattered by their judgement. So, on the surface, we all ‘cope’. Pretend we’ve studied everything, nod or smile when we don’t know the answer. But if we take the courage to be honest with each other, it becomes evident that these struggles are shared.
“ Our imposter syndrome stems from a desire to do our best by each patient. But patients don’t need flawless doctors – they need doctors who listen, work in a team, and improve.
We were at a workshop recently, sitting in groups where we were given some prompts – easy, medium and difficult topics – to encourage open discussions with our future colleagues. There is already a connection that thrives when we are in medical school together, so the ‘easy’ and ‘medium’ topics flew into words without hesitation. Yet, the conversation screeched to a halt when we flipped to a hard card: “What is the biggest challenge in your life currently?”
The silence was heavy with our vulnerability. Our unspoken fears about incompetence almost wrote themselves into the air around us.
When one of our peers had the courage to break the uncertainty and admit one of their difficulties, a palpable relief followed. And soon, each one of us could share our worries – all the little aspects that piece together our journey. It was a communal moment of realisation that we were all just working to belong.
All of us, medical students and doctors, have companionship in our field. Underneath these bonds lie our insecurities, and further within is a shared understanding of our challenges – but we can only uncover this through transparent conversations.
Our imposter syndrome stems from a desire to do our best by each patient. But patients don’t need flawless doctors – they need doctors who listen, work in a team, and improve. Belonging in the healthcare system means opening ourselves to honest conversations, acknowledging our shortcomings, and working together to overcome our struggles.
In the end, there is no one winner in our medical marathon – only a community that never stops trying to improve. And in that community, there are no imposters.