Mostly Resilient

Last Update: 6/19/2026

AI Resilience Score for Orderlies:

59.6%

Median Score

Meaningful human contribution

High

Long-term employer demand

Med

Sustained economic opportunity

Med

Our confidence in this score:
Medium

Contributing sources

Methodology and Scoring Rationale

To score how resilient orderly work is to AI, we ask one question in three parts:

First, how much of the job still needs a human, read from four AI-exposure sources: our own AI Resilience Model, Anthropic's Observed Exposure, Microsoft's AI Applicability, and Will Robots Take My Job. We call this dimension Meaningful Human Contribution (MHC) and weight it at 40%.

Next, whether employers will keep hiring for this job over the long term. This dimension, which we call Long-term Employer Demand (LTE), is calculated from BLS data and weighted at 30%.

Last, whether pay and mobility will hold up. We use wage bill and adaptive capacity data from independent researchers (Althoff & Reichardt, 2026; Manning & Aguirre, 2026). We call this dimension Sustained Economic Opportunity (SEO) and weight it at 30%.

For orderlies, six of seven sources had data, with Anthropic missing. Exposure was the main split: Will Robots Take My Job rated it High while AI Resilience Model and Microsoft both rated it Low, keeping confidence at Medium. Strong physical, hands-on duties lifted Meaningful Human Contribution to High, and that pushed the final label to "Mostly Resilient."

AI Resilience Report forOrderlies

$37,700 median salary7,800 annual openingsSOC Code: 31-1132.00

Orderlies are somewhat more resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 6 sources.

Orderly work is "Mostly Resilient" because the most important parts of the job, like repositioning patients, providing hands-on physical care, and offering genuine human comfort, simply cannot be replicated by machines. Robots like Moxi can handle supply runs and lab deliveries, but as one hospital executive put it, "robots touch things and people touch people," and no robot can hold a patient's hand or help someone brush their teeth.

Learn more about how you can thrive in this position

View analysis
Chat with Coach
Latest news
More career info
Analysis
Chat
News
More

Learn more about how you can thrive in this position

View analysis
Chat with Coach
Latest news
More career info
Analysis
Chat
News
More

This role is mostly resilient

Orderly work is "Mostly Resilient" because the most important parts of the job, like repositioning patients, providing hands-on physical care, and offering genuine human comfort, simply cannot be replicated by machines. Robots like Moxi can handle supply runs and lab deliveries, but as one hospital executive put it, "robots touch things and people touch people," and no robot can hold a patient's hand or help someone brush their teeth.

Read full analysis

Analysis of Current AI Resilience

Orderlies

Updated Quarterly

Analysis
Suggested Actions
State of Automation

How is AI changing Orderlies jobs?

If you're worried about robots taking over orderly jobs, take a breath — the reality today is much more limited than the hype suggests. Hospitals are mostly augmenting orderlies, not replacing them. The clearest example is Moxi, an AI-powered hospital robot built by Diligent Robotics that stands about 5 feet tall, ferries supplies, transports lab samples, and delivers snacks so nurses can spend more time with patients, and is now in use at about 25 hospitals nationwide, including Cedars-Sinai.

A newer pilot launched in April 2026 by BayCare Health System and the robotics startup Rovex [1] is testing autonomous stretcher movement at Morton Plant Hospital, though leaders stressed the technology "is designed to support — not replace — team members" and no patients are being moved by robots during the current pilot. Importantly, the most human parts of an orderly's job remain out of reach. As Cedars-Sinai's chief nursing executive told CBS News [2], "Robots touch things and people touch people.

They could never hold a patient's hand or wipe their brow or help them brush their teeth." Repositioning bedridden patients to prevent bedsores still requires human judgment and gentle handling.

Reveal More
AI Adoption

How fast is AI adoption growing for Orderlies?

Adoption is being pushed by serious staffing pressure. The American Hospital Association's 2026 Workforce Scan [3] reports that hospitals face rising labor costs, burnout, and growing demand from an aging population, and are "accelerating their use of AI-assisted documentation, clinical decision-support tools, digital scheduling and telehealth to reduce administrative burden and extend capacity without proportional staffing increases." But adoption is also being slowed by real-world limits. Nurses at hospitals using Moxi told the Washington State Nurses Association [4] the robots "were annoying and often got in the way," needed an escort between floors, and "never delivered meaningful time savings" — and MultiCare retired all 14 of its Moxi robots in 2025.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects [5] healthcare support occupations will grow 12.4% from 2024 to 2034 — one of the fastest-growing groups in the economy. Translation: human orderlies, with their warmth, judgment, and physical care skills, are still in high demand, and that's unlikely to change soon.

Sources

Reveal More
Will AI replace Orderlies?

Will AI replace Orderlies?

No. We don't think AI will replace orderlies, though we do expect the job to change.

Our 59.6% AI Resilience Score reflects what's actually happening in hospitals right now: robots are handling supply runs and lab deliveries, not patient care. Moxi, a robot now used at about 25 hospitals, fetches supplies and frees up nurses for more direct work. A 2026 BayCare pilot is testing autonomous stretcher movement, but leaders were clear the technology is "designed to support, not replace, team members" [1]. And real-world results have been mixed. Nurses reported that hospital robots "were annoying and often got in the way" and "never delivered meaningful time savings," leading MultiCare to retire all 14 of its Moxi units in 2025 [4].

The most human parts of this job remain out of reach for machines. As one hospital executive put it, "Robots touch things and people touch people" [2]. Repositioning a bedridden patient, offering reassurance, or helping someone brush their teeth requires warmth and judgment no robot has. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects healthcare support occupations will grow 12.4% from 2024 to 2034, one of the fastest-growing groups in the economy [5]. That kind of demand doesn't disappear because a supply robot learned to navigate a hallway.

Reveal More
Career Village Logo

Help us improve this report.

Tell us if this analysis feels accurate or we missed something.

Share your feedback

Your Career Starts Here

Navigate your career with COACH, your free AI Career Coach. Research-backed, designed with career experts.

Explore careers

Plan your next steps

Get resume help

Find jobs

Explore careers

Plan your next steps

Get resume help

Find jobs

Explore careers

Plan your next steps

Get resume help

Find jobs

Career Village Logo

Ask a pro on CareerVillage.org. Free career advice from more than 200,000 professionals.

Latest AI news for Orderlies

These articles highlight the growing importance of AI in the "Orderlies" career path. For instance, the launch of PartsTrader's AI-powered platform promises to streamline parts procurement, making the role more efficient and tech-driven. Additionally, the partnership between Orderly and Dentons showcases how AI can enhance business strategies and funding opportunities. As AI continues to evolve, Orderlies can leverage these advancements to improve their skills, adapt to new technologies, and remain resilient in a changing job landscape.

More Career Info

Career: Orderlies

They assist in hospitals by moving patients, maintaining cleanliness, and ensuring supplies are ready, helping the medical team care for patients efficiently.

Employment & Wage Data

Median Wage

$37,700

Jobs (2024)

54,000

Growth (2024-34)

+3.3%

Annual Openings

7,800

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Experience

None

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034

Task-Level AI Resilience Scores

AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years

1

95% Resilience

Serve or collect food trays.

2

94% Resilience

Position or hold patients in position for surgical preparation.

3

94% Resilience

Separate collected materials for disposal, recycling, or reuse, in accordance with environmental policies.

4

93% Resilience

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.

5

92% Resilience

Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.

6

90% Resilience

Restrain patients to prevent violence or injury or to assist physicians or nurses to administer treatments.

7

88% Resilience

Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms.

Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.

The AI Resilience Report is a project from CareerVillage.org®, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Built with ❤️ by Sandbox Web

The AI Resilience Report is governed by CareerVillage.org’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. This site is not affiliated with Anthropic, Microsoft, or any other data provider and doesn't necessarily represent their viewpoints. This site is being actively updated, and may sometimes contain errors or require improvement in wording or data. To report an error or request a change, please contact air@careervillage.org.