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AI exposure Healthcare practitioners and technical

Will AI replace surgical assistants?

Surgical Assistants. US occupation 29-9093.

0.0%

of the time surgical assistants spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of surgical assistants' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.

Average US job 7.7%

Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.

What AI already does for surgical assistantsWhat surgical assistants no longer do alone

O*NET lists 28 tasks for surgical assistants. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

28 of the 28 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.Core task
  • Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.Core task
  • Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.Core task
  • Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.Core task
  • Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.Core task
  • Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.Core task
Show the other 22
  • Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.Core task
  • Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.Core task
  • Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.Core task
  • Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.Core task
  • Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.Core task
  • Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.Core task
  • Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.Core task
  • Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.Core task
  • Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.Core task
  • Operate sterilizing devices.Core task
  • Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.Core task
  • Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.Core task
  • Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.Core task
  • Verify the identity of patient or operative site.Core task
  • Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
  • Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
  • Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
  • Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
  • Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
  • Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
  • Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
  • Transport patients to operating room.

How that compares

Among the 65 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, surgical assistants rank 63. The group averages 4.1%, and its most exposed job is Medical Records Specialists at 66.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Level with 0.0%

  1. 346Stonemasons 0.0%
  2. 346Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 0.0%
  3. 346Subway and Streetcar Operators 0.0%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.