Surgical Assistants

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 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.0), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

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

• Verify the identity of patient or operative site. Core · importance 5.0
• Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. Core · importance 4.9
• 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 · importance 4.7
• Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field. Core · importance 4.7
• Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment. Core · importance 4.7
• Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers. Core · importance 4.7
• Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings. Core · importance 4.7
• Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures. Core · importance 4.6
• 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. Core · importance 4.6
• Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment. Core · importance 4.6
• Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning. Core · importance 4.5
• Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events. Core · importance 4.5
• Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies. Core · importance 4.5
• Operate sterilizing devices. Core · importance 4.5
• Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure. Core · importance 4.4
• Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood. Core · importance 4.3
• Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery. Supplemental · importance 4.3
• Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins. Supplemental · importance 4.3
• Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems. Core · importance 4.2
• Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving. Core · importance 4.2
• Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies. Core · importance 4.2
• Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature. Core · importance 4.1
• Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications. Core · importance 3.9
• Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices. Core · importance 3.9
• Transport patients to operating room. Core · importance 3.9
• Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters. Supplemental · importance 3.7
• Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques. Supplemental · importance 3.7

Work activities

• Adjust settings or positions of medical equipment.
• Adjust building climate control systems.
• Operate on patients to treat conditions.
• Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
• Monitor patients following surgeries or other treatments.
• Assess skin or hair conditions.
• Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
• Maintain sterile operative fields.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
• Position patients for treatment or examination.
• Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
• Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
• Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.
• Administer intravenous medications.
• Apply bandages, dressings, or splints.
• Treat acute illnesses, infections, or injuries.
• Administer blood or other fluids intravenously.
• Implement advanced life support techniques.
• Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
• Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
• Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
• Examine medical instruments or equipment to ensure proper operation.
• Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
• Prepare patients physically for medical procedures.
• Move patients to or from treatment areas.
• Verify accuracy of patient information.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Abilities

Essential skills

Transferable skills

Skills in demand

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

• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Microsoft PowerPoint Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill
• Presentation Software Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Education

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Typical entry-level education

Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Preparation level

SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

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

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

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.

• Surgical Technologists · 29-2055.00 Compare →
• Anesthesiologist Assistants · 29-1071.01 Compare →
• Paramedics · 29-2043.00 Compare →
• Emergency Medical Technicians · 29-2042.00 Compare →
• Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians · 29-2031.00 Compare →
• Respiratory Therapists · 29-1126.00 Compare →
• Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · 29-2057.00 Compare →
• Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
• Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses · 29-2061.00 Compare →
• Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 Compare →
• Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · 29-1242.00 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 Surgical Assistants — 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
• 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-29-9093-00,
  title  = {Surgical Assistants},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; 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-29-9093-00}
}