Association between impostor phenomenon and proactive career behavior among new nurses with Master’s degrees in China： A moderated mediation model of career calling and perceived organizational support

Background： Impostor phenomenon(IP)，is a distressing psychological phenomenon commonly observed among newly graduated nurses. Due to the rapid transition from theoretical student to practicing nurse roles, newly employed master's-level graduate nurses are particularly susceptible to this“high academic credentials, low self-confidence” state, which impedes professional initiative. However, the specific operational mechanisms remain unclear. Aim: This study aims to examine how the mediating role of career calling(CC) and the moderating role of perceived organizational support(POS) influence the relationship between IP and proactive career behaviors(PCB) among new nurses with Master’s degrees in China. Design： A secondary analysis of multicenter cross-sectional correlational survey data was conducted. Methods： This study employed purposive sampling to collect observational data from 642 master's-level nursing students who joined 32 hospitals nationwide. Research variables included the CIPS, PCBS, CCS,POSQ, and general demographic statistics. R software was utilized to test the hypothesized model. Results： Participants exhibited moderate levels of IP (53.14 ± 10.84) and PCB (42.13 ± 7.00). Correlation analysis revealed a moderate negative correlation between SNC and PCB, while CC showed a significant positive correlation with PCB. The structural equation model demonstrated good fit (CFI=0.997, TLI=0.996). CC partially mediated the relationship between IP and PCB. The direct path coefficient from SNC to PCB was -0.456, the indirect effect was -0.367, and the total effect was -0.823. Moderation analysis revealed a significant interaction term between IP and POS (P < 0.001), indicating that POS significantly moderates the effect of IP on CC. Conclusion： Nursing education and management personnel should place greater emphasis on career planning and psychological changes among new graduate nurses. Timely implementation of necessary organizational humanistic care can strengthen new nurses' deep-seated CC, alleviate IP, and thereby enhance their capacity for PCB in new work environments.