ZSFG Library, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA,
Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,
J Med Libr Assoc. 2019 Jul;107(3):323-332. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2019.644. Epub 2019 Jul 1.
Impostor phenomenon, also known as impostor syndrome, is the inability to internalize accomplishments while experiencing the fear of being exposed as a fraud. Previous work has examined impostor phenomenon among academic college and research librarians, but health sciences librarians, who are often asked to be experts in medical subject areas with minimal training or education in these areas, have not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to measure impostor phenomenon among health sciences librarians.
A survey of 2,125 eligible Medical Library Association (MLA) members was taken from October to December 2017. The online survey featuring the Harvey Impostor Phenomenon scale, a validated measure of impostor phenomenon, was administered, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine relationships between impostor phenomenon scores and demographic variables.
A total of 703 participants completed the survey (33% response rate), and 14.5% of participants scored ≥42 on the Harvey scale, indicating possible impostor feelings. Gender, race, and library setting showed no associations, but having an educational background in the health sciences was associated with lower impostor scores. Age and years of experience were inversely correlated with impostor phenomenon, with younger and newer librarians demonstrating higher scores.
One out of seven health sciences librarians in this study experienced impostor phenomenon, similar to previous findings for academic librarians. Librarians, managers, and MLA can work to recognize and address this issue by raising awareness, using early prevention methods, and supporting librarians who are younger and/or new to the profession.
冒名顶替者现象，也称为冒名顶替者综合征，是指无法内化成就，同时又担心被揭露为骗子。先前的研究已经考察了学术型学院和研究型图书馆员中的冒名顶替者现象，但健康科学图书馆员尚未得到研究，他们通常被要求成为医学领域的专家，而在这些领域接受的培训或教育却很少。本研究旨在衡量健康科学图书馆员中的冒名顶替者现象。
2017 年 10 月至 12 月，对符合条件的 2125 名医学图书馆协会（MLA）成员进行了调查。采用 Harvey 冒名顶替现象量表进行在线调查，该量表是衡量冒名顶替现象的有效工具，并使用单因素方差分析（ANOVA）来检验冒名顶替现象得分与人口统计学变量之间的关系。
共有 703 名参与者完成了调查（响应率为 33%），14.5%的参与者在 Harvey 量表上的得分为≥42，表明可能存在冒名顶替的感觉。性别、种族和图书馆环境没有关联，但具有健康科学背景的人得分较低。年龄和工作年限与冒名顶替现象呈负相关，年轻和新入职的图书馆员得分较高。
在这项研究中，每七名健康科学图书馆员中就有一名经历过冒名顶替者现象，与先前针对学术图书馆员的研究结果相似。图书馆员、管理人员和 MLA 可以通过提高认识、采用早期预防方法以及支持年轻和/或新入职的专业人员来解决这一问题。
