Browsing by Subject "Perfectionism"

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    Perfectionism, impostor phenomenon, and mental health in medicine: a literature review
    (IJME, 2020-09-28) Thomas, Mary; Bigatti, Silvia; Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health
    Objectives: The 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. Methods: A 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. Results: Medical 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. Conclusions: Comprehensive 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.
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    Rewiring Anxiety by Using Movement to Promote Self-Care: An Action Research Self-Study
    (2020) Armstrong, Ilene; Leigh, Heather
    This paper summarizes this beginning art therapist's master's level capstone project. My project began in Fall 2019 as I was experiencing increased stress, anxiety, and perfectionism in my clinical internship, which was influencing how I responded to people both personally and professionally. I have autism and have often referred to myself as a recovering perfectionist, both of which are factors that have affected specifically my anxiety and interactions. I wanted to find more effective coping strategies. In Spring 2020, I conducted an action research self-study to explore the therapeutic effects of movement to reduce my unhealthy stress, anxiety, and perfectionism. Action research encourages practitioners of any vocation to learn by "doing" in order to change or improve their practice, their understanding of it, and the environments in which they work. This study empowered me to realize how familiar movements can both reduce and rewire my unhealthy stress, anxiety, and perfectionism. It has also helped me to improve my practice and step confidently into art therapy as an increasingly independent clinician. A major outcome of this project that could help others was discovering the importance of self-care and self-compassion in the process of becoming an art therapist.