Will AI replace licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 3% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 6 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 12 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts. (1h 39m a shift)
• Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action. (1h 12m a shift)
• Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations. (46m a shift)
• Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration. (39m a shift)
• Supervise nurses' aides or assistants. (26m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 94% work at arm's length or closer to other people
• 80% are exposed to disease or infection every day
• 74% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety

We track 1 sourced company move that affects this job. Most recent:

• Apr 20, 2026: Hippocratic AI launches voice assistant for inpatient nurses (Pilot)

On Indeed, job postings in the Nursing sector are at 112% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), down 0.4% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 52,000 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $64,400 a year ($30.96 an hour), 26% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $49,740 and $83,440 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 3% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 687,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 52,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 648,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.42% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 61st largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 687,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is some college: about 38% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Coordination, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Time Management
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: eClinicalWorks EHR software, Epic Systems, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Acute Care Nurses (12m touched, $98k median pay)
• Registered Nurses (53m touched, $98k median pay)
• Critical Care Nurses (46m touched, $98k median pay)
• Nurse Practitioners (59m touched, $132k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 22 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.