Farah Rahman, MD, on monitoring resident wellness using biofeedback

In an interview at the Society of Women in Urology (SWIU) 15^th Annual Clinical Mentoring Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Farah Rahman, MD, MPH, discussed the design and key findings from the URO-WEBB pilot study, which explored the use of wearable biofeedback technology to better understand and address burnout among urology residents. Rahman is a PGY-2 urology resident at Ochsner Health in New Orleans, Louisiana.

By way of background, Rahman noted that resident burnout is well documented, with prior studies showing that 38% to 48% of urology residents experience burnout during training, rising to as high as 70% in the second year. This burnout contributes to dissatisfaction, attrition, and in some cases leaving the field altogether. To capture a more objective and physiologic view of wellness, the study incorporated a wearable wrist device, the WHOOP device, that tracked metrics such as heart rate variability, strain, sleep duration, and sleep quality, reflecting how residents’ work demands affect them both inside and outside the clinic setting.

The pilot study was structured across 3 consecutive 4-week periods. During the first phase, residents wore the device without access to their data and completed baseline assessments, including the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and weekly surveys detailing work hours, call schedules, and clinical responsibilities. In the second phase, participants gained access to their wearable data, and in the third phase, they received targeted wellness benchmarks based on CDC recommendations related to sleep, nutrition, and alcohol use. Importantly, residents’ clinical workload, call schedules, and operative responsibilities remained unchanged throughout the study.

Despite these stable work demands, the study found that residents’ perceptions of their well-being improved over time. Rahman emphasized that while baseline burnout was high—as expected—the ability to view objective, physiologic data appeared to shift how residents understood and interpreted their own wellness. She suggested that providing residents with personalized biofeedback may foster greater autonomy and self-awareness, representing a novel and potentially powerful tool in medical training as wearable technologies become more integrated into health care.

REFERENCE

1. Rahman F. URO-WEBB: UROLOGY RESIDENT OPTIMIZATION OF WELLNESS AND BURNOUT USING BIOFEEDBACK-- A PILOT STUDY. Presented at: Society of Women in Urology (SWIU) 15^th Annual Clinical Mentoring Conference. January 30-31, 2026. Nashville, Tennessee