Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.

“Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.” is a supplemental task performed by Physicians, Pathologists. Among the occupation's 19 rated tasks, workers place it 8th by importance (#12 most important). About 51% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Collect environmental or biological samples. in Handling and Moving Objects

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities. · importance 4.9
• Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology. · importance 4.9
• Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions. · importance 4.8
• Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians. · importance 4.7
• Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases. · importance 4.7
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology. · importance 4.4
• Consult with physicians about ordering and interpreting tests or providing treatments. · importance 4.3
• Analyze and interpret results from tests, such as microbial or parasite tests, urine analyses, hormonal assays, fine needle aspirations (FNAs), and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). · importance 4.3
• Review cases by analyzing autopsies, laboratory findings, or case investigation reports. · importance 4.0
• Manage medical laboratories. · importance 4.0
• Diagnose infections, such as Hepatitis B and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), by conducting tests to detect the antibodies that patients' immune systems make to fight such infections. · importance 4.0
• Conduct genetic analyses of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or chromosomes to diagnose small biopsies and cell samples. · importance 3.9
• Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases. · importance 3.7
• Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions, such as medical technology, cytotechnology, or histotechnology. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Physicians, Pathologists page.

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-task-17186,
  title  = {Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-17186}
}