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Nurse Practitioners

Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

323,040 people do this job in the US. $132,300 a year.

now
64%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 67%
  • 9%
  • 23%
9%

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: 67% 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, 5%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 61%. Today's estimate: 64%.

0%25%50%75%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: 1% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 5% within reacho3, April 2025: 26% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 33% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 43% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 43% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 47% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 48% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 61% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 64% 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 . 27 tasks from .

TaskKind
Maintain departmental policies and procedures in areas such as safety and infection control.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 12%1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h77%Half by now
Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 7%50 min25 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task.6%25 min13 min to 1.1 h100%Half by now
Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 6%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Treat or refer patients for primary care conditions, such as headaches, hypertension, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and dermatological conditions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 6%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Perform routine or annual physical examinations.Done several times a day by most who do it. 5%33 min17 min to 1.1 hStays with people
Supervise or coordinate patient care or support staff activities.Done daily by most who do it. 5%50 min13 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%25 min13 min to 1.1 hStays with people
Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%17 min8 min to 38 min100%Half by now
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 4%1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h87%Half by now
Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).Done hourly or more by most who do it. 4%21 min8 min to 50 minStays with people
Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 4%17 min8 min to 38 min100%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.

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).