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Did You Know?
72% of family medicine program directors and 87% of medical students report impostor feelings
Why This Assessment Matters
The LIS-7 is a brief, validated measure of impostor phenomenon (IP)—the persistent feeling of being a fraud despite objective success. Developed by Leary at Duke, it captures the core subjective experience of impostorism without the complexity of longer scales.
✨ Key Benefits
- Only 7 items vs. 20+ in other scales — Quick screening for busy medical professionals
- High reliability — Cronbach's α = 0.87-0.94 across healthcare populations
- Unidimensional scoring — Single total score (7-35) for simple interpretation
- Validated in healthcare — Proven in medical students, residents, physicians, and simulation educators
- Early-career focus — Identifies at-risk individuals before IP fuels burnout
💔 1 in 4 physicians experience frequent impostor feelings (Stanford 2022). IP is linked to burnout, depression, anxiety, and reduced career satisfaction. Underrepresented minority students at PWIs have 3× higher IP than at HBCUs. Catch impostor feelings early—before they derail your career.
Year of study / Position
Do you use AI tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Golden Med AI, Gemini)?
Leary Impostor Scale
Please answer all questions below.
1. I have often succeeded on a test or task even though I was afraid that I would not do well before I undertook the task.
2. I can give the impression that I'm more competent than I really am.
3. I avoid evaluations if possible and have a dread of others evaluating me.
4. When people praise me for something I've accomplished, I'm afraid I won't be able to live up to their expectations in the future.
5. I sometimes think I obtained my present position or gained my present success because I happened to be in the right place at the right time or knew the right people.
6. I'm afraid people important to me may find out that I'm not as capable as they think I am.
7. I tend to remember the incidents in which I have not done my best more than those times I have done my best.
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