Anja Bliss

05 March 2024

Journal 2

Dr. Grossnickle

This past month of my clinical has been a confidence booster in terms of conquering the

feeling of imposter syndrome and being good about my selections for my future. I have been

implementing lifestyle changes while maintaining my clinical and treating around 70-75% of my

clinical instructor’s load. Some days I have a higher percentage of that load, depending on

cancellations. For a while, I was nervous about my career choice in terms of how I would tackle

complex problems, but I have been facing them surprisingly well. I have only had 1 patient give

me a sense of imposter syndrome, but that situation was out of my hands as the patient had plans

on belittling whoever they were going to work with. I dwelled on that even for a while before

deciding that it was a one-time event.

For the longest time, I was unsure how long it would take me to warm up to the 40-hour

work week with a full load. I was nervous that I may become overwhelmed or second guess my

career choice, but I am tolerating this experience with ease. My clinical instructor has been

practicing for 15 years, so her experience gives me confidence and trust in her techniques and

feedback. It also boosts my confidence when I get something correct that she didn’t, though I

would never rub it in.

I have gotten a few language barrier-situations that I have enjoyed figuring out at well. A

patient without a sign language interpreter came up to me asking questions and I had to recall the

sign language that I studied in undergrad to communicate with her. It wasn’t bad, but it has been
a long time since I’ve regularly spoken sign language. A similar thing happened when a Spanish-

speaking patient came up to me to ask some questions about their knee. Luckily for me, the only

languages I’ve encounters are ones that I have some education on .