Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.com
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
physician wellness, physician health, walking as exercise, STEPs study, burnout prevention
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background:
The STEP study (2023), a prospective observational study of emergency medicine residents and attending physicians, demonstrated that clinicians rarely achieve the commonly cited 10,000-step benchmark during clinical shifts. Since that time, large-scale dose–response analyses suggest that substantial health benefits occur at lower step counts (~7,000 steps/day), with diminishing returns beyond this range.
Objective:
To reinterpret the findings of the STEP study in light of contemporary evidence regarding step count and health outcomes.
Methods:
We revisited observational data from the STEP study, which measured step counts during emergency department shifts across three campuses using pedometers. These findings were compared with recent dose–response meta-analyses examining relationships between step count and health outcomes.
Results:
In the original study (N=128 observations), emergency physicians averaged approximately 4,000–4,800 steps per shift, with only 0.7% reaching 10,000 steps. When interpreted using a ~7,000-step benchmark, ED shift activity represents a substantial proportion of a daily health-associated step target.
Conclusions:
Emergency department work provides a meaningful “base layer” of physical activity but does not typically achieve full daily thresholds associated with optimal health. A dose–response framework reframes wellness as completion of physiologic input beyond the shift rather than recovery from it.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Sports Sciences
Included in
Reframing the STEP Study: The Health Significance of Emergency Physician Step Count Results in Light of Contemporary Benchmark Evidence
Background:
The STEP study (2023), a prospective observational study of emergency medicine residents and attending physicians, demonstrated that clinicians rarely achieve the commonly cited 10,000-step benchmark during clinical shifts. Since that time, large-scale dose–response analyses suggest that substantial health benefits occur at lower step counts (~7,000 steps/day), with diminishing returns beyond this range.
Objective:
To reinterpret the findings of the STEP study in light of contemporary evidence regarding step count and health outcomes.
Methods:
We revisited observational data from the STEP study, which measured step counts during emergency department shifts across three campuses using pedometers. These findings were compared with recent dose–response meta-analyses examining relationships between step count and health outcomes.
Results:
In the original study (N=128 observations), emergency physicians averaged approximately 4,000–4,800 steps per shift, with only 0.7% reaching 10,000 steps. When interpreted using a ~7,000-step benchmark, ED shift activity represents a substantial proportion of a daily health-associated step target.
Conclusions:
Emergency department work provides a meaningful “base layer” of physical activity but does not typically achieve full daily thresholds associated with optimal health. A dose–response framework reframes wellness as completion of physiologic input beyond the shift rather than recovery from it.