Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 15 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure.
• Conduct research to develop and test surgical techniques that can improve operating procedures and outcomes related to musculoskeletal injuries and diseases.
• Diagnose bodily disorders and orthopedic conditions, and provide treatments, such as medicines and surgeries, in clinics, hospital wards, or operating rooms.
• Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
• Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff.
• Examine instruments, equipment, and operating room to ensure sterility.
• Examine patient to obtain information on medical condition and surgical risk.
• Follow established surgical techniques during the operation.
• Manage surgery services, including planning, scheduling and coordination, determination of procedures, or procurement of supplies and equipment.
• Operate on patient's musculoskeletal system to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent and treat diseases, or improve or restore patient's functions.
• Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
• Prepare case histories.
• Prescribe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area.
• Provide consultation and surgical assistance to other physicians and surgeons.
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary.

Work activities

• Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
• Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
• Diagnose medical conditions.
• Operate on patients to treat conditions.
• Prescribe medications.
• Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
• Supervise patient care personnel.
• Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
• Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
• Follow protocols or regulations for healthcare activities.
• Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
• Manage healthcare operations.
• Order medical supplies or equipment.
• Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
• Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Prescribe treatments or therapies.
• Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
• Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
• Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Microsoft Windows Common Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Education

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Typical entry-level education

Doctoral or professional degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Preparation level

SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs , Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Work styles

Interest areas

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric · 29-1241.00 Compare →
• Anesthesiologists · 29-1211.00 Compare →
• Urologists · 29-1229.03 Compare →
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons · 29-1022.00 Compare →
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →
• Dermatologists · 29-1213.00 Compare →
• Neurologists · 29-1217.00 Compare →
• Podiatrists · 29-1081.00 Compare →
• General Internal Medicine Physicians · 29-1216.00 Compare →
• Emergency Medicine Physicians · 29-1214.00 Compare →
• Cardiologists · 29-1212.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-29-1242-00,
  title  = {Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1242-00}
}