J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2022 Apr;33(2):211-219.

Comparison of physical work intensity of emergency medicine (EM) residents and non-EM residents, measured on the smartwatch: a prospective study

• Lee DH
• Kang JH
• Yu JK
• Ji JG
• Lee SW
• Park CH
• Yoon YS
• Kim YW

Abstract

Objective
The purpose of this study was to compare the physical work intensity of emergency medicine (EM) and non-EM residents during a 24-hour work duty cycle using a smartwatch.
Methods
This study was conducted for a month from 7 May to 4 June 2021. A total of 27 residents submitted their consent to be recruited as subjects for the study. We distributed a smartwatch to each of the participants and measured their physical work intensity. Twenty non-EM residents wore a smartwatch for a week. Also, seven EM residents wore a watch during the time they were on 24-hour duty for the whole research period. After finishing their 24-hour duty, participants took off the smartwatch and stopped recording their physical activities. Sixty-five samples were matched for comparison between the non-EM and EM residents. Each of the samples comprised a pair of 24-hour records of EM and non-EM residents. The data were matched to ensure the same date and grade and thus control the variables.
Results
The results of this study showed that the maximum heart rate of the EM residents was 129.7±3.8 beats/min, which was higher than that of the non-EM residents. A comparison of the sleep hours during the 24-hour duty showed that the average sleep time of the EM residents was 156.9±84.8 minutes, which was significantly lower than that of the non-EM residents. However, calorie consumption, moving distance, and step count during the 24-hour duty cycle showed no significant difference between the EM and non-EM residents.
Conclusion
The maximum heart rate was higher among EM residents during their 24-hour work duty compared to the non-EM residents. In addition, the sleep time of the EM residents was significantly lower than that of the non-EM residents.

Keyword

Emergency medicine; Workload; Residency; Wearable electronic device