Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Nursing School

Because Your Seat in that Class was not a Mistake

There will be a moment — maybe during your first clinical rotation, maybe the night before a pharmacology exam, maybe when your classmate rattles off a perfect answer and you can’t remember the difference between systolic and diastolic — when a voice in your head whispers: “You don’t belong here.” That voice is a liar.

Imposter syndrome is extraordinarily common among nursing students and thrives on comparison. It tells you that everyone else is smarter, more prepared, and more confident. But here’s what it conveniently leaves out: nearly every student in your cohort has felt the same way. The student who answered that question flawlessly? She cried in her car last Tuesday. The one who seems endlessly composed during clinicals? He rewatched the IV insertion video fourteen times before getting it right.

You were not admitted to your program by accident. An admissions committee reviewed your transcripts, essay, experience, and potential — and said yes. That yes was not charity. It was recognition. You earned your place, and the discomfort you feel is not evidence that you don’t belong. It is evidence that you are growing. So the next time imposter syndrome knocks on your door, let it knock. You don’t have to answer. Instead, open your textbook, review your notes, show up for clinical, ask the questions you’re afraid to ask, and remind yourself of one unshakable truth: nurses are not born confident. They are built — one brave, imperfect day at a time. And you are being built right now.

✨ TAKEAWAY: Confidence is not a prerequisite for nursing school. It is a product of it. Keep showing up.