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Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses

Assess, diagnose, and treat individuals and families with mental health or substance use disorders or the potential for such disorders. Apply therapeutic activities, including the prescription of medication, per state regulations, and the administration of psychotherapy.

$97,550 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).

now
57%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 84%
  • 3%
  • 13%
6%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 84% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 55%. Today's estimate: 57%.

0%25%50%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 2% within reacho3, April 2025: 12% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 19% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 30% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 30% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 37% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 39% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 55% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 57% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 24 tasks from .

TaskKind
Develop practice protocols for mental health problems, based on review and evaluation of published research.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 15%1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days4%Half by Dec 2027
Develop, implement, or evaluate programs such as outreach activities, community mental health programs, and crisis situation response activities.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 11%1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days2%Half by Feb 2028
Diagnose psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 9%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Assess patients' mental and physical status, based on the presenting symptoms and complaints.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 8%38 min17 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Evaluate patients' behavior to formulate diagnoses or assess treatments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 7%38 min17 min to 1.3 h100%Half by now
Develop and implement treatment plans.Done several times a day by most who do it. 7%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Distinguish between physiologically- and psychologically-based disorders, and diagnose appropriately.Done several times a day by most who do it. 6%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Conduct individual, group, or family psychotherapy for those with chronic or acute mental disorders.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%50 min38 min to 1.7 h100%Half by now
Monitor patients' medication usage and results.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Document patients' medical and psychological histories, physical assessment results, diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, or outcomes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Educate patients and family members about mental health and medical conditions, preventive health measures, medications, or treatment plans.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task.4%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Participate in activities aimed at professional growth and development, including conferences or continuing education activities.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 3%3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h32%Half by Jan 2027

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.