Do student nurses experience Imposter Phenomenon? An international comparison of Final Year Undergraduate Nursing Students readiness for registration

Christensen, Martin; Aubeeluck, Aimee; Fergusson, Diana; Craft, Judy; Knight, Jessica; Wirihana, Lisa; Stupple, Ed

Abstract

Background: The transition shock sometimes associated with moving from student to registered nurse can lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity especially with the increased expectations and responsibilities that registration brings. Known as Imposter Phenomena, individuals often express a lack of self-confidence, uncertainty in their abilities or that others have an over inflated opinion of them.
Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the extent at which imposter phenomenon is evident in four final year nursing student cohorts in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Design: A survey design.
Settings: The study took place at 4 higher education institutes – two metropolitan campuses and two regional campuses between October 2014 and February 2015 in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. A sample of 223 final year nursing students undertaking nationally accredited nursing programmes were approached.
Results: Each cohort exhibited mild to moderate feelings of Imposter Phenomena. A positive weak correlation between imposter phenomena and preparedness for practice was found. The New Zealand cohort scored higher than both the Australian and United Kingdom cohorts on both feelings of imposterism and preparedness for practice.
Conclusions: Nursing students possess internalised feelings which suggest their performance and competence once qualified could be compromised. There is some speculation that the respective curriculums may have some bearing on preparing students for registration and beyond. It is recommended that educational programmes designed for this student cohort should be mindful of this internal conflict and potential external hostility.

Citation

Christensen, M., Aubeeluck, A., Fergusson, D., Craft, J., Knight, J., Wirihana, L., & Stupple, E. (in press). Do student nurses experience Imposter Phenomenon? An international comparison of Final Year Undergraduate Nursing Students readiness for registration. Journal of Advanced Nursing, https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13034

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 5, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 30, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 8, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Advanced Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0309-2402
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2648
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13034
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/787919
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.13034/abstract;jsessionid=CF4B814F58B4D7FCEC60E3240E02BAFE.f02t02
• Additional Information: "This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Christensen, Martin and Aubeeluck, Aimee and Fergusson, Diana and Craft, Judy and Knight, Jessica and Wirihana, Lisa and Stupple, Ed (2016) Do student nurses experience Imposter Phenomenon? An international comparison of Final Year Undergraduate Nursing Students readiness for registration. Journal of Advanced Nursing , which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.13034. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
• Contract Date: Jun 8, 2016