AI exposure: Sports Medicine Physicians
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
Reading this score
computedSports Medicine Physicians 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 2.2 out of 4. Only 23.3% of the weighted task load comes out as exposed, because 33.2% 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 27 tasks it averages 2.62 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 Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records, at 53.3%. The least is Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as..., at 2.8%. A gap of 50.5% 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 15 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 27 tasks, 8 are currently banded exposed, 13 assisted and 6 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 | 2.25 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.67 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.71 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 2.33 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.93 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.62 | 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
27 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records. | 53.3% | 46.7% | 0.0% | 4.59 | exposed |
| Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.72 | exposed |
| Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.38 | exposed |
| Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.28 | exposed |
| Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.18 | exposed |
| Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques, and alert them to potentially dangerous practices. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.07 | exposed |
| Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.14 | exposed |
| Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.72 | assisted |
| Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.21 | assisted |
| Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.97 | exposed |
| Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures. | 29.2% | 33.3% | 37.5% | 4.93 | assisted |
| Advise athletes on ways that substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results. | 25.0% | 50.0% | 25.0% | 3.41 | assisted |
| Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens. | 21.7% | 28.3% | 50.0% | 3.25 | assisted |
| Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations. | 20.8% | 41.7% | 37.5% | 4.86 | assisted |
| Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.46 | assisted |
| Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.76 | assisted |
| Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.34 | assisted |
| Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.28 | assisted |
| Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.10 | assisted |
| Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes. | 11.2% | 26.2% | 62.5% | 3.93 | untouched |
| Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system. | 10.0% | 40.0% | 50.0% | 4.97 | assisted |
| Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being. | 10.0% | 40.0% | 50.0% | 4.31 | assisted |
| Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.38 | untouched |
| Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.86 | untouched |
| Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites. | 6.3% | 10.4% | 83.3% | 3.55 | untouched |
| Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries. | 6.2% | 31.2% | 62.5% | 4.41 | untouched |
| Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma. | 2.8% | 22.2% | 75.0% | 4.61 | 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.