From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (McCall, Pudwell, Nitsch), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Faculty of Education (Pyper), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
J Am Coll Surg. 2024 Sep 1;239(3):298-308. doi: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001111. Epub 2024 May 7.
This project aims to characterize the extent and nature of impostor phenomenon (IP) among women surgeons in Canada. IP is well documented among medical professionals and trainees. It is known to have significant impacts on mental health and career trajectory.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of self-identifying women who have completed a surgical residency and currently or most recently practiced in Canada.
Among 387 respondents, 98.7% have experienced IP. Median IP score corresponded to frequent impostor feelings or high impostorism. Self-doubt affects most women surgeons for the first time during training. It tends to be most intense in the first 5 years of practice and lessens over time. One hundred twelve (31.5%) surgeons experience self-doubt in the operating room (OR). Due to self-doubt, 110 (28.4%) respondents preferred to work with a more experienced assistant in the OR, whereas 40 (10.4%) stated that they would only operate with an experienced assistant. Few surgeons take on less OR time due to self-doubt (29 [7.5%]), but 60 (16.5%) take on fewer complex cases due to self-doubt. A small but important number of surgeons (11 [2.8%]) had given up operating altogether due to self-doubt. Due to feelings of self-doubt, 107 (21.4%) respondents were hesitant to take on a leadership role in the workplace.
IP is a nearly universal experience among women surgeons and is influential in their professional lives. This study contributes to scientific knowledge that can advance gender equity in medicine and leadership.
本项目旨在描述加拿大女性外科医生中冒名顶替现象（IP）的程度和性质。IP 在医疗专业人员和受训者中已有充分记录。它已知对心理健康和职业轨迹有重大影响。
我们对自我认同的已完成外科住院医师培训且目前或最近在加拿大执业的女性进行了横断面调查。
在 387 名受访者中，98.7%的人经历过 IP。中位数 IP 得分对应于频繁的冒名顶替感或高度的冒名顶替。自我怀疑在培训期间首次影响大多数女性外科医生。它在实践的头 5 年最为强烈，随着时间的推移而减轻。112（31.5%）名外科医生在手术室（OR）中感到自我怀疑。由于自我怀疑，110（28.4%）名受访者更喜欢在 OR 中与经验更丰富的助手一起工作，而 40（10.4%）名受访者表示他们只愿意与经验丰富的助手一起工作。由于自我怀疑，很少有外科医生减少 OR 时间（29 [7.5%]），但由于自我怀疑，60（16.5%）名外科医生减少了复杂病例。少数外科医生（11 [2.8%]）由于自我怀疑而完全放弃了手术。由于自我怀疑，107（21.4%）名受访者在工作场所担任领导角色时犹豫不决。
IP 是女性外科医生中几乎普遍存在的经历，对她们的职业生活有影响。本研究为可以促进医学和领导力中的性别平等的科学知识做出了贡献。
