Orderlies

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 0.0). 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 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers. Core · importance 4.8
• Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. Core · importance 4.7
• Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment. Core · importance 4.7
• Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance. Core · importance 4.7
• Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms. Core · importance 4.3
• Change soiled linens, such as bed linens, drapes, or cubicle curtains. Core · importance 4.3
• Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas. Supplemental · importance 4.3
• Collect and transport infectious or hazardous waste in closed containers for sterilization or disposal, in accordance with applicable law, standards, or policies. Supplemental · importance 4.3
• Transport specimens, laboratory items, or pharmacy items, ensuring proper documentation and delivery to authorized personnel. Supplemental · importance 4.3
• Collect soiled linen or trash. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Provide physical support to patients to assist them to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Separate collected materials for disposal, recycling, or reuse, in accordance with environmental policies. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Restrain patients to prevent violence or injury or to assist physicians or nurses to administer treatments. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Carry messages or documents between departments. Core · importance 4.1
• Turn or reposition bedridden patients, alone or with assistance, to prevent bedsores. Supplemental · importance 4.1
• Transport portable medical equipment or medical supplies between rooms or departments. Core · importance 3.9
• Position or hold patients in position for surgical preparation. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Stock utility rooms, nonmedical storage rooms, or cleaning carts with supplies. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Stock or issue medical supplies, such as dressing packs or treatment trays. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Transport bodies to the morgue. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Serve or collect food trays. Supplemental · importance 2.4
• Supply, collect, or empty bedpans. Supplemental
• Take and record vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, or respiration rate, as directed by medical or nursing staff. Supplemental

Work activities

• Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
• Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information.
• Provide information to coworkers.
• Relay information between personnel.
• Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
• Clean medical equipment.
• Dispose of biomedical waste in accordance with standards.
• Transport biological or other medical materials.
• Adjust positions of patients on beds or tables.
• Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.
• Respond to emergencies to provide assistance.
• Collaborate with law enforcement or security agencies to respond to incidents.
• Feed patients.
• Stock medical or patient care supplies.
• Move patients to or from treatment areas.
• Assist patients with daily activities.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

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

Knowledge

Abilities

Transferable skills

Essential skills

Skills in demand

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

• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Microsoft Windows Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill
• Installation 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 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

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.

Interest areas

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Work styles

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.

• Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
• Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians · 53-3011.00 Compare →
• Physical Therapist Aides · 31-2022.00 Compare →
• Home Health Aides · 31-1121.00 Compare →
• Surgical Assistants · 29-9093.00 Compare →
• Surgical Technologists · 29-2055.00 Compare →
• Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
• Psychiatric Aides · 31-1133.00 Compare →
• Medical Equipment Preparers · 31-9093.00 Compare →
• Personal Care Aides · 31-1122.00 Compare →
• Emergency Medical Technicians · 29-2042.00 Compare →
• Paramedics · 29-2043.00 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 Orderlies — 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-31-1132-00,
  title  = {Orderlies},
  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-31-1132-00}
}