AI exposure: Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and prevent rheumatic and other diseases in the musculoskeletal system.
Reading this score
computedAt 16.2% of weighted task load, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric sits at the 26th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 57.8% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is verification cost. Across this occupation's 15 tasks it averages 2.82 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 Prepare case histories, at 53.3%. The least is Operate on patient's musculoskeletal system to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent..., at 0.0%. A gap of 53.3% 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 less exposed than the median of 18.5% across the group's 89 roles, with 58 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 15 tasks, 2 are currently banded exposed, 5 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 | 1.69 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.21 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.70 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 2.69 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.99 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.82 | 0-3 |
Task by task
15 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare case histories. | 53.3% | 46.7% | 0.0% | – | exposed |
| Manage surgery services, including planning, scheduling and coordination, determination of procedures, or procurement of supplies and equipment. | 46.7% | 28.3% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | – | assisted |
| Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures. | 29.2% | 33.3% | 37.5% | – | assisted |
| Conduct research to develop and test surgical techniques that can improve operating procedures and outcomes related to musculoskeletal injuries and diseases. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system. | 10.0% | 40.0% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Provide consultation and surgical assistance to other physicians and surgeons. | 10.0% | 27.5% | 62.5% | – | untouched |
| Prescribe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area. | 7.5% | 17.5% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Diagnose bodily disorders and orthopedic conditions, and provide treatments, such as medicines and surgeries, in clinics, hospital wards, or operating rooms. | 6.7% | 26.7% | 66.7% | – | untouched |
| Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Follow established surgical techniques during the operation. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Examine patient to obtain information on medical condition and surgical risk. | 3.3% | 21.7% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Examine instruments, equipment, and operating room to ensure sterility. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | – | untouched |
| Operate on patient's musculoskeletal system to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent and treat diseases, or improve or restore patient's functions. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | – | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 15 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
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.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.