Jobs · Licensed practical nurse

Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 16% of the working time in a typical licensed practical nurse job today. The other 84% still needs a person.

22 responsibilities · a typical licensed practical nurse job

84% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 84% of the timeAI could take on: 16%

Median pay $64,400 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Supervise aides and assistants
  • Watch for changes in patients
  • Respond to patient call bells
  • Take and record vital signs
  • Give medications and IV fluids
  • Provide hands-on patient treatments

AI can do or help with

  • Review care results with the team AI helps
  • Track patient food and fluid intake AI helps
  • Handle scheduling and clinic paperwork AI can do it
  • Track and reorder medical supplies AI helps

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces. See all 22, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 16% of the working time in a typical licensed practical nurse job today. The other 84% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: review care results with the team, track patient food and fluid intake, handle scheduling and clinic paperwork, track and reorder medical supplies.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: supervise aides and assistants, watch for changes in patients, respond to patient call bells, take and record vital signs, give medications and IV fluids, provide hands-on patient treatments.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 22 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0). Each is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. Scores version 0.5.1, updated September 29, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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