Imposter Syndrome and the NP Transition

You were a confident RN. Now you feel like a fraud. Why imposter syndrome follows the move to NP, and how to tell a hard role from a badly built job.

For years you were the nurse other nurses came to. You knew the policies, you could read a room before anyone said a word, and you handled a crisis without having to think through every step. Then you became a nurse practitioner, and a few weeks in, you started wondering whether you should go back.

If you have thought about returning to your RN job, you are in good company. I had been a competent, respected RN. Then I became an NP and felt like I had never seen a sick person in my life. I sat at my desk after a patient visit thinking, "Who actually let me do this?"

That feeling has a name. It also has an explanation, and the explanation has nothing to do with whether you chose the right career.