Impostor Phenomenon and Cognitive Complaints in Anesthesiologists

June 11, 2026 updated by: Fusun Gozen

Impostor Phenomenon and Cognitive Complaints in Anesthesiologists: A Neglected Risk for Patient Safety

This prospective observational cross-sectional survey study aims to investigate the relationship between impostor phenomenon and cognitive complaints in anesthesiologists, and to evaluate the role of potential confounding factors such as sleep quality, workload, anxiety, depression, and burnout in this relationship.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Anesthesiologists are required to make rapid decisions demanding high situational awareness for patient safety and clinical risk management. The Impostor Phenomenon (IP), frequently encountered among healthcare professionals, is defined as perceiving oneself as inadequate despite proven achievements, with persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud. While existing literature has detailed the association of IP with mood symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and burnout, its effect on cognitive complaints has not been sufficiently examined. This study will assess IP using the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), cognitive complaints using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and sleep quality and workload using single-item subjective scales. Data will be collected anonymously via an online self-administered structured questionnaire from anesthesiologists actively working in clinical practice.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

176

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Bursa, Turkey (Türkiye), 16310
        • Bursa Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa, Türkiye

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Anesthesiologists actively working in clinical practice in Turkey, including residents, specialists, and academic staff.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Aged 18 years or older Actively working as an anesthesiologist (resident, specialist, or academic staff) Provided written informed consent Completed the survey in full

Exclusion Criteria:

Not actively working in clinical practice Refused to provide informed consent Submitted an incomplete survey

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Study Cohort
Anesthesiologists actively working in clinical practice, including residents, specialists, and academic staff. Data were collected via an anonymous, self-administered online questionnaire assessing the impostor phenomenon, cognitive complaints, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and workload.
Other: Self-Administered Questionnaire
A structured online self-administered questionnaire including the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and single-item scales for sleep quality and workload.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Relationship Between Impostor Phenomenon and Cognitive Complaints
Time Frame: At the time of survey completion, up to 1 month
Statistical association between the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) total score and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) total score among anesthesiologists.
At the time of survey completion, up to 1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fusun Gozen

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Füsun Gözen, MD (Anesthesiology), SBÜ Bursa Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024-TBEK 2026/02-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared. This is a single-center observational survey study conducted at a public hospital. Data were collected anonymously and data sharing is not planned due to institutional privacy regulations and the absence of external funding requiring data sharing.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Burnout, Professional

Clinical Trials on Self-Administered Questionnaire

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Rwanda

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe