b'ARTICLEyour patients and clients. But you dontothers opinions. Youre valuable simply have to carry the weight of impossiblebecause youre you.expectations. So, lets make a pact. Instead of striving Next time you feel like an imposter infor an impossible ideal of the perfect your veterinary role, try this: Take a deepprofessional, lets embrace our authentic breath. Remind yourself that this is aselves. Lets celebrate our strengths, common experience, not a personalacknowledge our areas for growth, failing. Ask yourself, What would I sayand support each other along the way. to a friend feeling this way? Then offerBecause when we step into our true yourself that same compassion; and yes,selves as veterinary professionals, we that can feel a little different, so take itnot only empower ourselves but also give slowly. others permission to do the same.Remember, youre not alone in this. TheYoure not an imposter. Youre a valuable, veterinary profession is full of incredible,unique individual with so much to offer caring individuals who sometimesthe veterinary community. And thats doubt themselves. But your worth isntmore than enough.determined by your achievements or Katie is an experienced small animal vet, having graduated from Liverpool in 2012 and gaining her RCVS Certificate in Internal Medicine in 2017. She became passionate about opening conversations up around imposter syndrome and self-doubt following her own experiences in the veterinary profession, and trained as a coach with further study in a number of areas, as well as publishing a series of books. Katie grew a following of over 20,000 across social media as @katiefordvet, and is an international and keynote speaker, both in the vet profession and beyond. She co-founded Vet Empowered in 2020, offering personal development content and group coaching services.Dr. Katie FordAs her businesses grew, she saw the importance of money mindset and financial BVSc(Hons)independence, not only within her own clients but in making personal progress too. She joined VetYou as a co-director, helping to break down barriers around finances within the CertAVP(SAM)profession and to enable access to timely, expert financial advice. MSc MRCVS Throughout her career, Katie has picked up various other skills, from a Level 7 in Event Management (running VETstagram in 2020 and 2023) to a Digital Marketing Diploma. She has been nominated for several awards, from BrightMinds Influencer, MYTA Entrepreneur of The Year and Business Woman of The Year.Katie has created and delivered a number of large events within the veterinary space, as well as facilitating team building for companies across the globe at Introducing Events.She recently came to the end of studying for a Masters Degree in Emotional Wellbeing, and is currently undertaking an additional CMI Level 7 ICF coaching qualification to deepen her practice, particularly around trauma-informed and somatic coaching.Katie was awarded the RCVS Inspiration Award in 2023.References and further reading: William Morrow.1. Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving (This book discusses the importance of self-compassion)women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research6. Neureiter, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2016). An Inner Barrier to Career & Practice, 15(3), 241247. Development: Preconditions of the Impostor Phenomenon and Consequences(This is the original study that identified the imposter phenomenon) for Career Development. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 48.2. Young, V. (2011). The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People (This study explores the impact of imposter phenomenon on career Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It. Crown Business. development) (This book introduces the five imposter archetypes) 7. Canning, E. A., LaCosse, J., Kroeper, K. M., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Feeling 3. Bravata, D. M., et al. (2020). Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of ImpostorLike an Imposter: The Effect of Perceived Classroom Competition on the Syndrome: a Systematic Review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252- Daily Psychological Experiences of First-Generation College Students. Social 1275. Psychological and Personality Science, 11(5), 647657. (This study provides statistics on the prevalence of imposter syndrome)(This study examines the daily experiences of those feeling like imposters)4. Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House. 8. Mak, K. K., Kleitman, S., & Abbott, M. J. (2019). Impostor Phenomenon(This book introduces the concept of growth mindset) Measurement Scales: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 671.5. Neff, K. (2011). Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. (This review examines different ways of measuring imposter phenomenon)26www.inspiredvet.co.uk'