AI exposure: Medical Dosimetrists
Generate radiation treatment plans, develop radiation dose calculations, communicate and supervise the treatment plan implementation, and consult with members of radiation oncology team.
Reading this score
computedMedical Dosimetrists is one of the unusual cases where capability and friction are both high. Current systems can produce a great deal of this work, with average capability across its tasks at 2.1 out of 4. Only 23.8% of the weighted task load comes out as exposed, because 27.3% of it runs into something structural. Jobs in this band tend not to disappear. They change shape, and the person stays.
What holds the line here is verification cost. Across this occupation's 19 tasks it averages 2.48 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, checking the output costs more than producing it. Where an undetected error is expensive, dangerous or irreversible, the economics change. Someone has to verify the work, and verifying can cost as much as doing it. This is the friction most likely to fall as tools for checking improve.
The most exposed thing this job does is Calculate the delivery of radiation treatment, at 56.7%. The least is Fabricate patient immobilization devices, at 0.0%. A gap of 56.7% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within healthcare practitioner and technical occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 89 roles in the group is 18.4%, and only 13 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 19 tasks, 5 are currently banded exposed, 6 assisted and 8 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take a change in who is permitted to sign the work, which is a question for regulators rather than for engineers. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.05 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.36 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.24 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 2.18 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.58 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.48 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Roles in this band tend to change shape rather than disappear. The output gets drafted faster and the person moves toward review, judgment and accountability. The useful question is not whether to use these tools but who is trusted to sign off on what they produce.
Task by task
19 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate the delivery of radiation treatment, such as the amount or extent of radiation per session, based on the prescribed course of radiation therapy. | 56.7% | 43.3% | 0.0% | 4.80 | exposed |
| Calculate, or verify calculations of, prescribed radiation doses. | 56.7% | 43.3% | 0.0% | 4.75 | exposed |
| Record patient information, such as radiation doses administered, in patient records. | 49.6% | 37.9% | 12.5% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Conduct radiation oncology-related research, such as improving computer treatment planning systems or developing new treatment devices. | 47.5% | 27.5% | 25.0% | 3.00 | exposed |
| Develop treatment plans, and calculate doses for brachytherapy procedures. | 46.9% | 44.8% | 8.3% | 4.25 | exposed |
| Educate patients regarding treatment plans, physiological reactions to treatment, or post-treatment care. | 32.5% | 42.5% | 25.0% | 3.33 | assisted |
| Design the arrangement of radiation fields to reduce exposure to critical patient structures, such as organs, using computers, manuals, and guides. | 25.0% | 37.5% | 37.5% | 4.89 | assisted |
| Develop requirements for the use of patient immobilization devices and positioning aides, such as molds or casts, as part of treatment plans to ensure accurate delivery of radiation and comfort of patient. | 25.0% | 37.5% | 37.5% | 3.67 | assisted |
| Develop radiation treatment plans in consultation with members of the radiation oncology team. | 24.4% | 31.9% | 43.8% | 4.70 | assisted |
| Create and transfer reference images and localization markers for treatment delivery, using image-guided radiation therapy. | 22.2% | 27.8% | 50.0% | 4.47 | assisted |
| Advise oncology team members on use of beam modifying or immobilization devices in radiation treatment plans. | 17.8% | 32.2% | 50.0% | 4.15 | assisted |
| Perform quality assurance system checks, such as calibrations, on treatment planning computers. | 14.6% | 16.7% | 68.8% | 3.88 | untouched |
| Supervise or perform simulations for tumor localizations, using imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or positron emission tomography scans. | 10.4% | 23.0% | 66.7% | 4.58 | untouched |
| Measure the amount of radioactivity in patients or equipment, using radiation monitoring devices. | 10.0% | 27.5% | 62.5% | 3.46 | untouched |
| Identify and outline bodily structures, using imaging procedures, such as x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or positron emission tomography. | 7.2% | 17.8% | 75.0% | 4.80 | untouched |
| Teach medical dosimetry, including its application, to students, radiation therapists, or residents. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 3.61 | untouched |
| Plan the use of beam modifying devices, such as compensators, shields, and wedge filters, to ensure safe and effective delivery of radiation treatment. | 3.8% | 8.8% | 87.5% | 4.80 | untouched |
| Fabricate beam modifying devices, such as compensators, shields, and wedge filters. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.94 | untouched |
| Fabricate patient immobilization devices, such as molds or casts, for radiation delivery. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.75 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.