ReviewInternational journal of medical education2020
Perfectionism, impostor phenomenon, and mental health in medicine: a literature review.
Review in International journal of medical education, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 221 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rethinking the impostor phenomenon: An umbrella review of concept, context and interventions.Medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Global prevalence of imposter syndrome in health service providers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Occupational burnout among obstetrics and gynaecology residents: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The value of stress management programs for medical students: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The effectiveness of online educational interventions on impostor syndrome and burnout among medical trainees: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- Is There a Burnout Epidemic among Medical Students? Results from a Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Pooled it
- Taxing working memory during laparoscopic training: reducing the impact of perfectionistic concerns on skill learning.Surgical endoscopy · 2026Trial
- Impact of diversity representation in art on pre-health professions students' sense of belonging: A randomized experimental study.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- Effects of proof-of-concept training on reducing work stress and anxiety of junior medical staff: a randomized controlled trial proof-of-concept.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2024Trial
- Test-reduced teaching for stimulation of intrinsic motivation (TRUST): a randomized controlled intervention study.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- Another Brick in the Wall: Pink Floyd's The Wall as a Phenomenological Model of the Hidden Curriculum in Psychiatric Education.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2026Article
- Impostor phenomenon and perfectionism among medical students at a medical faculty in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- The Assessment of Prevalence and Predictors of Impostor Phenomenon Feelings Among Dental Students in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina-A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Self-oriented perfectionism and psychological well-being in medical students: cross-sectional indirect associations involving perceived cognitive flexibility and shame.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Workplace violence, intimate partner violence, and depression in nurses: the mediating role of impostor syndrome.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy in Improving Quality of Life Among Anesthesiology Residents.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Imposter syndrome as mediator and moderator between personality and mental health in Malaysian students.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Imposterism and perfectionism: Imposterism predicts rigid and self-critical perfectionism, but not narcissistic perfectionism.Personality and individual differences · 2026Article
- Imposter Phenomenon or Perfectionism? Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism in Plastic Surgery Training and Practice.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Factors associated with the mental health of early-career dementia researchers: An international cross-sectional survey.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aims of this review, focused on medical students, residents, and physicians, were a) to determine the levels of perfectionism and prevalence of impostor phenomenon, b) to assess the relationship between perfectionism, impostor phenomenon, and mental health, and c) explore how medical culture may influence these personality characteristics.
methodsA narrative literature review was conducted. Search terms were entered into PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar without date or geographic restrictions. The McMaster Critical Review Forms for Quantitative and Qualitative Studies were used for article appraisal. Final decisions on inclusion and exclusion were reached through discussion. Sixteen articles were included in this review and summarized in a data extraction table.
resultsMedical students had similar perfectionism scores to other student groups but scored lower in maladaptive perfectionism. The overall prevalence of the impostor phenomenon ranged from 22.5% to 46.6%. More females (41% - 52%) experienced clinical levels of impostor phenomenon compared to males (23.7% - 48%). Most studies did not find an association between the impostor phenomenon and academic year of training. Both personality characteristics were associated with negative mental health effects. Medical culture can train for and/or exacerbate these characteristics, affecting professional identity formation. Both characteristics contribute to distress for learners during commonly-used teaching methods in medical education.
conclusionsComprehensive changes in medical education that consider the relationship between medical culture, professional identity formation, impostor phenomenon, and perfectionism are needed. Longitudinal studies will help identify the implications of these findings for professional identity formation and medical education.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.