AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1151.00

Will AI replace Nurse Anesthetists?

Nurse Anesthetists: AI can already handle 3 of 24 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 24 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Nurse Anesthetists, from most to least exposed. 3 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response. 65 Estimated Standard 4.7
Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur. 65 Estimated Standard 4.6
Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs). 65 Estimated Frontier 4.4
Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation. 55 Estimated Efficient 5.0
Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.9
Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.8
Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics. 55 Estimated Frontier 4.7
Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment. 55 Estimated Standard 4.6
Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Select, order, or administer pre-anesthetic medications. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Insert peripheral or central intravenous catheters. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Insert arterial catheters or perform arterial punctures to obtain arterial blood samples. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Discharge patients from post-anesthesia care. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Instruct nurses, residents, interns, students, or other staff on topics such as anesthetic techniques, pain management and emergency responses. 55 Estimated Standard 3.7
Develop anesthesia care plans. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.7
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing. 50 Estimated Standard 4.1
Request anesthesia equipment repairs, adjustments, or safety tests. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Disassemble and clean anesthesia equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques. 10 Estimated No tier 4.9
Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures. 10 Estimated No tier 4.6
Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients. 10 Estimated No tier 4.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 24 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 24 of 24. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 71% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 84% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 16% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
51,840
Median annual wage
$236,590
Middle half of earners
$206,730 to $294,350
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+8.6%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Nurse Anesthetists and AI

Will AI replace Nurse Anesthetists?

AI already handles 3 of the 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 47 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +8.6% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Nurse Anesthetists?

47 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 24 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 24 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Nurse Anesthetists tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response; Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur; Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs). They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 71% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Nurse Anesthetists, and what do they earn?

51,840 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $236,590 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +8.6% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Nurse Anesthetists. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/nurse-anesthetists

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