Health profession students’ anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome in a rural versus urban setting

BACKGROUND: Limited research exists comparing healthcare students' mental health among disciplines or between rural versus urban healthcare students. The researchers aimed to examine the prevalence and severity of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome among medical and physical therapy students in an urban versus a rural university. METHODS: Students enrolled in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs in all class years at an urban campus in Pomona, California and rural campus in Lebanon, Oregon, were sent an anonymous survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Clance Imposter Scale. RESULTS: N = 316 participants responded, a powered sample at 80%. Mean scores indicated high levels of imposter syndrome and mild levels of anxiety and depression among participants. Urban DPT students had significantly higher anxiety than urban medical students (p = 0.02). Female (p = 0.05) and LGBTQ (p = 0.05) students also had significantly higher imposter syndrome scores than male or heterosexual students, respectively. Anxiety was lower among clinical students compared to preclinical (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Imposter syndrome is high among urban and rural medical and physical therapy students. Interventions targeting imposter syndrome, particularly among women and those identifying as LGBTQ, may be beneficial to both medical and physical therapy students. Further research in a larger population is warranted.