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Why it fits
Builds on RN clinical judgment, monitoring, medication, records, and interdisciplinary care in higher-acuity units.
Why it fits
Applies clinical workflow, staffing, records, quality, compliance, and patient-care operations knowledge.
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Transfers nursing expertise into clinical instruction, skills assessment, curriculum, and student supervision.
Occupation snapshot
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What's this?
We rate jobs using four factors. These are:
- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions
These are some key things to think about when job hunting.
Risk & user votes
Calculated automation risk
Minimal Risk (0-20%): This occupation appears difficult to replace end-to-end with current or near-future automation, including AI software and robotics. Roles in this range usually depend on human judgement, creativity, care, leadership, specialist expertise, or adapting to messy real-world situations. AI and machines may still change parts of the work, but the occupation is likely to remain a distinct human role.
More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.
Human strengths important in this job
These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.
Assisting and caring for others
Very importantWhy this matters
Decision-making and problem solving
Very importantWhy this matters
Psychology knowledge
Very importantWhy this matters
Thinking creatively
Quite importantWhy this matters
Working directly with the public
Quite importantWhy this matters
Show 4 more strengths
Coaching and developing others
Quite importantWhy this matters
Coordinating others’ work
Quite importantWhy this matters
Consulting and advising others
Quite importantWhy this matters
Active learning
Quite importantWhy this matters
What users think
Based on 1,242 votes
Our visitors have voted there's a minimal chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 9% chance of automation.
What do you think the risk of automation is?
What is the likelihood that Registered Nurses will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?
Sentiment
Based on user votes over time
View sentiment trend
How opinions have changed over time
Pay & outlook
Wages
In 2024, the median annual wage for Registered Nurses was $93,600 ($45 per hour).
The median annual wage for Registered Nurses was 89.1% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.
View wage trend
Wages over time
Growth
The number of 'Registered Nurses' job openings is expected to rise 4.9% by 2034
View employment trend
Total employment, and estimated job openings
Updated projections are due 09-2025.
Volume
As of 2024 there were 3,282,010 people employed as 'Registered Nurses' within the United States.
This represents around 2.1% of the employed workforce across the country
Put another way, around 1 in 46 people are employed as 'Registered Nurses'.
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Job description
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.
O*NET-SOC code: 29-1141.00
What people are saying (32)
the patients win
Theres a lot of admin and management stuff that OUGHT to be replaced by AI. Drug sorting and stuff like that. But even with those being replaced by AI I still see nursing being a profession that's chronically short staffed.
Think about it, a nurse needs finger dexterity, be able to be physically precise, be able to partly lift wounded people without hurting them.
Then there's the quick decision making in critical situations. Also the interpersonal skills.
I mean, there could be some automation. The example given of a sleeve that automatically gives IV's and a tray that dishes out medicine is interesting. But is the sleeve going to clean a patient when they suddenly poop themselves? Is the tray going to calm someone down if they have a panic attack?
If the robot has the kind of physical presence that it can do all that on its own and is also intelligent enough to make critical decisions, it's basically going to look like a human. And then this robot probably also could do plumbing, carpeting, HVAC repair, electrician's work, be a doctor, do accounting, do web development, design electrical systems, take people's surveys etc. In other words, if a robot can truly do nursing it can basically do anything and most jobs will already be automated.
A deeper healthcare crisis is looming.
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