To what extent do oral and maxillofacial surgery residents suffer from imposter syndrome?

Andrew J Deek; Rebecca A Deek; Devin J Clegg; Caleb Blackburn; Tyler Holley; Jack E Gotcher

doi:10.1016/j.oooo.2024.02.025

To what extent do oral and maxillofacial surgery residents suffer from imposter syndrome?

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2024 Mar 2:S2212-4403(24)00086-5. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2024.02.025. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Andrew J Deek¹, Rebecca A Deek², Devin J Clegg³, Caleb Blackburn⁴, Tyler Holley⁵, Jack E Gotcher⁶

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery Fellow, Department of Plastic & Oral Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: AndrewJDeek@gmail.com.
² Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburg, PA, USA.
³ Resident, Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USA.
⁴ Resident, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USA.
⁵ Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Knoxville, TN, USA.
⁶ Program Director, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USA.

PMID: 38692959
DOI: 10.1016/j.oooo.2024.02.025

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the frequency and severity of imposter syndrome (IS) in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) residents and identify factors associated with higher Clance Imposter Phenomenon Survey (CIPS) scores.

Study design: A cross-sectional study was performed with a survey including CIPS, demographic, and training program structure questions distributed to all OMS training programs and residents in the United States. The primary predictor variable was gender, and the main outcome variable was the CIPS score. Statistical analyses were performed using linear regression in R v4.3.1; statistical significance was set to P value < .05.

Results: A total of 175 OMS residents responded. The average CIPS score was 59.8 (IQR 52, 70). Statistically significant differences were found between average male and female resident scores (56.5 vs 66.9; P < .001) and male and female single-degree residents (54.3 vs 73.1; P < .001), but not for dual-degree residents (58.8 vs 63.9; P = .35).

Conclusions: The average male resident experiences moderate IS, whereas the average female resident experiences frequent IS. Loss of significance between male and female dual-degree resident scores may be due to the completion of a doctoral degree, an internship, and/or dental board exams upon entering medical school, leading to more favorable accomplishment comparisons among medical school peers.