AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-9093.00

Will AI replace Surgical Assistants?

Surgical Assistants: AI can already handle 2 of 28 tasks; the work mostly needs an efficient-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 28 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Surgical Assistants, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Verify the identity of patient or operative site. 80 Estimated Efficient 5.0
Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning. 65 Estimated Standard 4.5
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. 50 Estimated Standard 4.7
Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature. 50 Estimated Standard 4.1
Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
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. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures. 30 Estimated Standard 4.6
Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Operate sterilizing devices. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Transport patients to operating room. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.9
Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood. 10 Estimated No tier 4.3

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 28 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 28 of 28. 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

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 78% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 93% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 7% 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
22,270
Median annual wage
$66,800
Middle half of earners
$50,170 to $88,010
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+5.1%

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 Surgical Assistants and AI

Will AI replace Surgical Assistants?

AI already handles 2 of the 28 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 32 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 +5.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Surgical Assistants?

32 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 28 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 28 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Surgical Assistants tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Verify the identity of patient or operative site; Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 78% 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 Surgical Assistants, and what do they earn?

22,270 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $66,800 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +5.1% 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: Surgical Assistants. 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/surgical-assistants

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