Orderlies
Transport patients to areas such as operating rooms or x-ray rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. May maintain stocks of supplies or clean and transport equipment. Psychiatric orderlies are included in Psychiatric Aides.
52,440 people do this job in the US. $38,290 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 1%
- 0%
- 99%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 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, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
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 . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 16% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 16% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Collect soiled linen or trash.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 10 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Change soiled linens, such as bed linens, drapes, or cubicle curtains.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 15 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Collect and transport infectious or hazardous waste in closed containers for sterilization or disposal, in accordance with applicable law, standards, or policies.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Transport portable medical equipment or medical supplies between rooms or departments.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Transport specimens, laboratory items, or pharmacy items, ensuring proper documentation and delivery to authorized personnel.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Provide physical support to patients to assist them to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Carry messages or documents between departments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people |
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).