Table 2 Manifestations of IP

Fear about asking for help

“I definitely struggled getting accustomed to my lab and feeling comfortable asking questions and asking for help, which was definitely impostor syndrome because all of my lab members were extremely kind.”

Comparison of self with others

“I have a different career path than many of my peers in CPRTP. I am not as knowledgeable on many topics that my peers are well-rehearsed in due to my focused career path. This made me feel less valuable when discussing academic or social topics with my peers.”

“… especially when talking about my project with my mentor since I feel like i actually don’t know anything compared to her. I’ve managed it by reading and informing myself more on the topic.”

Fear of lack of skills or experience

“In laboratory, I had to learn how to do experiments for the first time, and throughout the summer, made many mistakes. This made me feel as though I was inherently incompetent.”

“Sometimes I felt as if I could not perform the statistics necessary which made me feel like an impostor.”

Having self-doubt

“I am always in these high-powered meetings where I sit and listen to presentations about results given by professors or postdocs and the discussion these create can go above my head and create feelings of ‘oh I’m not good enough for this kind of thing’ but then I realize, ‘wait a minute, I’m a grad student.”

Uneasiness adjusting to new environments or new tasks, or both

“Being at the largest, and best, cancer center in the country makes me feel that I am on a team bigger than myself, but it’s hard to feel like I belong here—which is probably coming from impostor phenomenon.”

“… coming in, I was already wondering why I was picked over all the other qualified people who applied, not completely having a perspective to what people saw in me. The impostor syndrome presentation blew me away and brought a lot of thought to the forefront of my mind.”

“… I have often felt this feeling of inadequacy in situations that I earned a position in, but never knew what this feeling was. Learning about the impostor phenomenon gave me the answer I was longing for. Also, learning that this phenomenon is so common gave me comfort that I am not alone, and gave me tools on how to combat and recognize these feelings before they come. Accordingly, I am getting more comfortable talking to the well-established and world-renowned doctors and faculty around the medical center. I now ask them questions that I may have never had the courage to before this program. This opportunity has also reassured me that I am going down the right path.”