JW: What do you believe is the potential for application beyond individuals— for example, for entire residency and fellows/trainees, or even division or department faculty?
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May 2023NK: I work with a company called Arena Strive (I have no financial interest) that’s looking to utilize wearable devices, such as Whoop, in a group setting to optimize team dynamics and personal recovery. I think the personal recovery piece is going to be a large asset to institutions, including residency programs and departments, by utilizing known methods for stress mitigation and recovery optimization. Although I don’t think wearable devices and individual-focused programs are a solution to the systemic problem we find ourselves in regarding the burnout epidemic, I do feel as though arming physicians with the tools necessary to create healthy habits is imperative.
JW: What should our readers know that’s on the horizon and exciting?
NK: I think the use of wearable technology is going to be commonplace in no time and regular use by both physicians and patients for health optimization is on the horizon. I have a huge interest in this translation of biometric data to actionable changes with real-time feedback. I think that when we can optimize our performance, as any athlete does, not only does it benefit us, but it benefits our patients. And when considering our patients, I would love to be able to place a continuous glucose monitor and/or Whoop on my patients prior to elective surgery to optimize health habits, glucose stability, and sleep. Who knows the benefit to surgical outcomes we may see?
Dr. Wei is chair of otolaryngology education for the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. She is also an associate editor on the ENTtoday editorial advisory board.
Fertility Tracking
The latest Apple Watch version has a cycle tracking app that monitors the menstrual cycle and fertility window. Instead of buying hundreds of ovulation kits in bulk and taking daily temperatures as I did for both primary and secondary infertility, one of today’s wearable technologies might have blessed me with more children. A JAMA study published in July 2021 and highlighted by a report from The New York Times reported that of the female surgeons surveyed, 42% had a pregnancy loss, more than twice the rate of the general population. Compared with male surgeons, female surgeons had fewer children (mean [SD], 1.8 [0.8] vs 2.3 [1.1]; P < .001), were more likely to delay having children because of surgical training (450 of 692 [65.0%] vs 69 of 158 [43.7%]; P < .001), and were more likely to use assisted reproductive technology (172 of 692 [24.9%] vs 27 of 158 [17.1%]; P = .04) (JAMA Surg. 2021;156:905–915).