Nurse Anesthetists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 33% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 67% of the time, stays with people.
Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
51,840 people do this job in the US. $236,590 a year.
Reviewed on October 19, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work12 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people27 h
Nurse Anesthetists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 12 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 27 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop anesthesia care plans (about 3 h, a person checks); Assess medical histories (about 2 h, a person checks); Monitor the patient under anesthesia (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 22%
- 11%
- 1%
- 14%
- 52%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 33% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 32%. Today's estimate: 33%.
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.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 24 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 83% of this job's working time as physical work. For 18% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 18% in a purpose-built cell. 0.18 of 3, the 457th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 17%
- No robot shown 65%
- In a purpose-built cell 18%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
67% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Manage the patient's airway, the hands-on work, 8%
- Monitor the patient under anesthesia, the hands-on work, 6%
- Set up anesthesia equipment and drugs, the hands-on work, 6%
- Evaluate recovery and act on complications, the hands-on work, 5%
- Screen patients before anesthesia, the in-person work, 5%
- Give regional anesthesia, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
31% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 2% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Develop anesthesia care plans, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Assess medical histories, a licensed person signs, 6%
- Monitor the patient under anesthesia, a licensed person signs, 4%
- Prescribe post-anesthesia medication, a licensed person signs, 4%
- Give anesthetics, drugs and fluids, a licensed person signs, 3%
- Read or run diagnostic tests, a licensed person signs, 2%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The hands-on craft. About 52% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 22% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.Watching the patient and the monitors through the case.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 60%, systems 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Develop anesthesia care plans.Working out the plan from the history and the procedure, and writing it.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.Intubation, ventilation and breathing support done by hand at the head of the table.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.Choosing and readying the monitors, supplies and drugs by hand for the case.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 21 min13 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.Choosing the drugs and fluids, ordering them and giving them during the case.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Automated anesthesia control system (closed-loop TIVA) (University of Fukui / Nagata, Shigemi et al.) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Hands-on 60%, documents 20%, systems 20% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results.The interview and the physical exam with the patient, then the note in the chart.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | In person 40%, hands-on 40%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.Reading the history and the record to judge how the patient will respond.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur.Checking the patient in recovery, treating problems and calling for a consult when needed.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 60%, conversation 20%, in person 20% | Stays with people |
| Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.Reading, talking with colleagues and conferences; the knowing is the nurse's own.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.Spinal, epidural and nerve blocks placed by hand.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.Explaining the anesthesia and its risks to the patient and getting the signature.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | In person 80%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients.Deciding the drugs and treatments and entering the orders in the chart.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Nurse Anesthetists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 33% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 33% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Nurse Anesthetists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Develop anesthesia care plans (100% of the task's time now); Assess medical histories (100% of the task's time now); and Monitor the patient under anesthesia (40% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Nurse Anesthetists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Manage the patient's airway; Set up anesthesia equipment and drugs; and Evaluate recovery and act on complications. Together such tasks are about 39% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Nurse Anesthetists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; signing off under your license; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 67% of the working time stays with people, 31% becomes checking a model's work and 2% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Nurse Anesthetists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Nurse Anesthetists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 83% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 18% of the working time. Its index is 0.18 of 3. One example: Automated anesthesia control system (closed-loop TIVA) for "give anesthetics, drugs and fluids". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 24 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 19, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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