Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.

“Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.” is a core task performed by Orderlies. Among the occupation's 24 rated tasks, workers place it 22nd by importance (#3 most important). About 94% 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.

• Clean medical equipment or facilities. in Performing General Physical Activities

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

• Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers. · importance 4.8
• Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. · importance 4.7
• Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance. · importance 4.7
• Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms. · importance 4.3
• Change soiled linens, such as bed linens, drapes, or cubicle curtains. · importance 4.3
• Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas. · 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. · importance 4.3
• Transport specimens, laboratory items, or pharmacy items, ensuring proper documentation and delivery to authorized personnel. · importance 4.3
• Collect soiled linen or trash. · 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. · importance 4.2
• Separate collected materials for disposal, recycling, or reuse, in accordance with environmental policies. · importance 4.2
• Restrain patients to prevent violence or injury or to assist physicians or nurses to administer treatments. · importance 4.2
• Carry messages or documents between departments. · importance 4.1
• Turn or reposition bedridden patients, alone or with assistance, to prevent bedsores. · importance 4.1

See all tasks on the Orderlies 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-19356,
  title  = {Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.},
  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-19356}
}