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Clinical Nurse Specialists

Direct nursing staff in the provision of patient care in a clinical practice setting, such as a hospital, hospice, clinic, or home. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.

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

now
15%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 74%
  • 17%
  • 9%
6%

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

Half the desk work within reach
September 2027

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 74% 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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 15%.

0%5%10%15%20%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: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 1% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 1% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 3% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 3% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 3% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 4% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 11% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 15% 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 . 30 tasks from .

TaskKind
Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice or organizational systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 10%6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days8%Half by Sep 2027
Develop and maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or patient care standards, based on evidence-based practice guidelines or expert opinion.Done daily by most who do it. 10%1 work day3.3 h to 3.1 work days6%Half by Sep 2027
Develop, implement, or evaluate standards of nursing practice in specialty area, such as pediatrics, acute care, and geriatrics.Done several times a day by most who do it. 10%1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days2%Half by Feb 2028
Lead nursing department implementation of, or compliance with, regulatory or accreditation processes.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 10%2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeksStays with people
Design evaluation programs regarding the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice or organizational systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 10%2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.3 work weeks0%Half by Apr 2028
Design patient education programs that include information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.7%1 work day2.5 h to 3.1 work days5%Half by Oct 2027
Develop nursing service philosophies, goals, policies, priorities, or procedures.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 5%1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days4%Half by Dec 2027
Maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or infection control standards.Done daily by most who do it. 5%2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h46%Half by Oct 2026
Instruct nursing staff in areas such as the assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of disability, illness, management, technology, or resources.Done daily by most who do it. 4%1.7 h25 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Provide specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients within a designated specialty, such as obstetrics, neurology, oncology, or neonatal care.Done daily by most who do it. 3%1.3 h25 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Provide direct care by performing comprehensive health assessments, developing differential diagnoses, conducting specialized tests, or prescribing medications or treatments.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 3%1.7 h38 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Participate in clinical research projects, such as by reviewing protocols, reviewing patient records, monitoring compliance, and meeting with regulatory authorities.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 3%5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days15%Half by Jun 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.