Amanpreet Kaur on managing impostor syndrome as a health professional

10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication

Medical Librarian Amanpreet Kaur talks about having imposter syndrome, what it feels like to be “in a rabbit hole of learning,” and how she’s leaning into her impostor syndrome as a health professional.

How many letters do I need behind my name? That rhetorical question was put out to me from Medical Librarian Amanpreet Kaur. In today’s episode, Aman talks about an issue that I’m sure many of us struggle with: imposter syndrome. Aman talks about what imposter syndrome has to do with her communication, and how she navigates being both an expert and learner together.
Hi everybody, I’m Dr. Anne Marie Liebel and this is 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication, recently ranked #20 of the top 100 podcasts in the social sciences by GoodPods. If you want to take your communication to the next level, we’ve got the way. BRIDGES is our continuous improvement process. We evaluate your communication on seven important dimensions to help you reach more people. For more information, visit healthcommunicationpartners.com or you can message me on LinkedIn.

Medical librarians are in such an important position in the whole patient communication and patient education ecosystem. And they are champions of health literacy. What I especially appreciate about Amman’s choice of topic is that it’s reflective. She reminds us how much we are each a part of our work, our communication work, our education work. We bring it all with us: our position, identities, histories, worldviews, assumptions, fears. And this show and all of my work with Health Communication Partners tries to make space and support such reflective practice. So I was very happy to have Aman sit down with me and talk with me. So let’s turn to that interview.

I’m live via Zoom with Amanpreet Kaur. Amanpreet is a Health Literacy librarian and a Master of Public Health student at University of Pennsylvania. Aman works at the Leon Levy Dental Medicine Library, which serves the information needs of the School of Dental Medicine. In collaboration with the School of Dental Medicine’s Community Oral Health Division, Aman coordinates the Health Literacy Study Club, which is a virtual dental student -led discussion series for anyone interested in health literacy and patient education focused on oral health and dental medicine. Aman, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Now you and I have known each other for a few years through the health literacy community. So I’m glad to have you on the show for how much we do talk about health literacy here. So let me ask you the question that I ask all of our guests to start us off: What is the problem or issue that you’re facing in patient education or communication?

That is a great question. My, um, I guess issue is imposter syndrome. I don’t know how many letters I need behind my name, what kind of credentials, what makes me an expert in this field. And it’s one of those things where I feel like I don’t know enough.

Well, thank you for that. That’s a really brave response. A lot of times when we talk about health literacy and problems in patient education or patient communication, we’re looking out. We’re looking at society, or we’re looking at something that patients or communities might be struggling with. But we don’t often enough, I don’t think, look at ourselves as having so much to do with the interaction that is health literacy, that supports health literacy. So do you think your own feelings about imposter syndrome are a problem or an issue for your patient communication?

So luckily I don’t interact directly with patients, but I am surrounded by like highly credentialed health care workers. People who are seasoned professionals, who have way more experienced than I do. And it’s one of those things where I think being active in the health literacy space, it’s luckily it’s introduced me to a wide variety of people. And I’m becoming more and more comfortable with you know, like what my perspective is, what I bring to the table. But it is very intimidating to be in these spaces. I just got my health literacy specialist certificate from the Institute for Healthcare Advancement. Couple of years ago, I renewed my Consumer Health Information Specialization Level 2 through the Medical Library Association. So there’s a lot of letters, lots of CEs, continuing education programs. And things that I’ve been learning, through the public health classes that I’ve been taking in grad school, like I’ve been learning a lot as well. And I feel like sometimes I’m just in a rabbit hole of learning. And it can be overwhelming in that way. How in-depth do my skills need to be, or my knowledge base needs to be, for the health literacy world.

Because you’re helping people who are interacting with patients. So you’re talking to providers, right?

Yes.

So when you’re doing that, how are you facing this problem of wrestling with your feelings of impostor syndrome?

So I’ve noticed at least like in my experiences, people who work in healthcare are very patient and understanding themselves. So it’s, I was recently reminded in one of the health study club and discussions, you know, when I mentioned like, “Oh, I’m not a oral health expert, but I am a patient, blah, blah, blah,” you know, in my commentary. And a faculty member spoke up and they’re like, “Oh, that’s actually a really cool perspective to have.”

Right?

And so I do get those kinds of reminders as well. Sometimes providers want a patient perspective or someone who’s closer to the typical patient experience as well. Those kinds of experiences are helpful, perspectives are helpful. It’s nice to be able to pull from those personal experiences as well.

So what are you learning from facing your imposter syndrome, or dealing with your imposter syndrome while you are supporting providers to help promote health literacy in the communities that they work with?

Yeah, I’m learning to embrace my imposter syndrome. I’m reframing it as a way that it keeps me grounded. And I’ve also learned that other people face imposter syndrome as well. And in a wide variety of of contexts too. So it’s, I’m not alone in these experiences.

No, you’re not.

But sometimes it feels like that, you know, when you first start to like question your credentials or your experiences. And, that more of us should be having this conversation and reflecting on why it happens.

Agreed. Agreed. 100%. I’ve been thinking about the ways that health literacy is an interdisciplinary field and it’s kind of a young field. And there are still, even in this young field, kind of images of what a professional looks like, and what a professional does, and how a professional sounds. And what happens when you don’t feel like you live up to that image. Are there other images? And so thank you for making this space for this too, for this conversation. and for kind of going a vulnerable place with me and letting our listeners kind overhear this conversation. So do you have any words for people who might also be feeling like they have impostor syndrome that they’re wrestling with?

That is another great question. I think it’s staying positive and staying grounded. I think it’s quite an asset to remember our own patient experiences, or to bring in our personal experiences. I was a former child interpreter for the grownups in my life. And I question some of my experiences of like, whether or not I was successful in helping my parents navigate the health care system when I was younger. I think there are times where I still struggle with it. I got lost in a hallway in a building that I had walked in for work related purposes. But as a patient, I got lost in it! And it’s one of those things where luckily I wasn’t wearing my work ID or it would have been quite embarrassing!

And imagine how patients feel, right?

Exactly. But it was a humbling experience that I can bring in, like, when I was a patient, I must have been more nervous walking into this building.

What a story, too. I’m sorry. Thank you for telling that story. And I want to go back for a second and let that little girl Aman off the hook. She wasn’t responsible to help her parents navigate,
but that was a role she was put into. I am sure she did a fabulous job, but it wasn’t her job to do. So yeah, let that go. But thank you for also kind of fast forwarding in time for us and reminding us about what it’s like for patients to be in a space that even you are in every day, and when you’re suddenly in the role of a patient and not as an employee, it feels different. And that change was enough to throw you off, “Oh gosh, I’m lost in the building that I work in.” Thank you for that. Another brave point of vulnerability. Aman, I really appreciate your bringing this up and coming onto the show with something that was so intensely personal and meaningful.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks again to Amanpreet Kaur for her candor and her insights. If you would like support on reflective practice in your communication and patient education, join the many other practitioners who have worked with me and Health Communication Partners over the years. Visit healthcommunicationpartners.com and click on Contact, or message me on LinkedIn. This has been 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication from Health Communication Partners. Audio Engineering and Music by Joe Liebel, Additional Music by Alexis Rounds. Thanks for listening to 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication from Health Communication Partners, LLC. Find us at healthcommunicationpartners.com.

The post Amanpreet Kaur on managing impostor syndrome as a health professional appeared first on Health Communication Partners.