Sports Medicine Physicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 29% 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 43% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 55% of the time, stays with people.
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
$265,930 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
Reviewed on October 18, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work11 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet7 h
- Stays with people22 h
Sports Medicine Physicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 11 hours become checking its work, 7 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 22 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Order and read tests (about 3 h, a person checks); Take histories and examine athletes (about 1 h, a person checks); Keep athletes' medical records (about 1 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.
- 31%
- 14%
- 4%
- 26%
- 24%
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 29% 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, 28%. Today's estimate: 29%.
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
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.074% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 200th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 3 of its 27 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0041% to 0.0012% (released February and March 2025); 0.0078% to 0.0097% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.057% to 0.074% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0041% | 632 of 708 | 2 of 27 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0012% | 702 of 703 | 1 of 27 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0078% | 487 of 655 | 2 of 27 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0056% | 565 of 672 | 1 of 27 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0097% | 501 of 677 | 3 of 27 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.057% | 222 of 434 | 2 of 27 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.074% | 200 of 447 | 3 of 27 |
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 54% of this job's working time as physical work. For 1% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 1% in a purpose-built cell. 0.01 of 3, the 659th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 46%
- No robot shown 53%
- In a purpose-built cell 1%
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
53% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Treat musculoskeletal disorders, the hands-on work, 9%
- Take histories and examine athletes, the hands-on work, 8%
- Manage chronic pain, the in-person work, 5%
- Treat injured athletes, the hands-on work, 5%
- Conduct sports medicine research, the hands-on work, 4%
- Counsel on injury prevention, the in-person work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
41% 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.
- Conduct sports medicine research, costly if wrong, 14%
- Order and read tests, a licensed person signs, 7%
- Take histories and examine athletes, a licensed person signs, 4%
- Keep athletes' medical records, severe if wrong, 4%
- Refer athletes onward, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Treat musculoskeletal disorders, 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.
- 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.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 31% 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 . 27 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise.Analysis and writing, with data gathered from athletes.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 20% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 3.5 work weeks | Documents 80%, hands-on 20% | 1%Desk part half by Apr 2028 |
| Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.The history asked and charted, and the hands-on exam.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 42 min25 min to 1.1 h | Hands-on 50%, systems 30%, in person 20% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.Examining and treating in the room, with the record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 50%, in person 30%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.Orders entered and results read in the record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 60%, systems 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.Seeing the patient, examining, and the plan written in the record.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 40%, documents 30%, hands-on 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.Examining and treating the athlete, with the record.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 42 min21 min to 1.4 h | Hands-on 50%, in person 30%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.Checking on the athlete and the therapists in person, with the record read.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.Talking with the athlete in person.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 42 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.Charting the care given.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.Calls and meetings with the other clinicians and coaches, around the record.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Conversation 50%, in person 30%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.Referral orders entered, with a call where needed.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Systems 60%, documents 20%, conversation 20% | 80%Desk part half by now |
| Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries.Deciding the medicine and entering the prescription.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 2% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 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). 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.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Sports Medicine Physicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 29% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 43% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (34% to 45% across the three paces the site shows). 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 Sports Medicine Physicians 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: Order and read tests (100% of the task's time now); Take histories and examine athletes (30% of the task's time now); and Keep athletes' medical records (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Sports Medicine Physicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Counsel on injury prevention; Cover games and competitions; and Advise athletes on nutrition. Together such tasks are about 13% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Sports Medicine Physicians 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 reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 53% of the working time stays with people, 41% becomes checking a model's work and 1% 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 Sports Medicine Physicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.074% went to this job's tasks, the 200th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 3 of its 27 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 3%. 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 Sports Medicine Physicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 54% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 1% of the working time. Its index is 0.01 of 3. One example: CapSen PiC medical kitting cell (Yaskawa MOTOMAN GP7 + Zivid Two 3D camera) for "prepare the event medical kit". 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 27 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 18, 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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