SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — As companies such as Kroger cut corporate jobs while expanding their use of artificial intelligence, one Boise physical therapist says her work shows both the technology’s potential and its limits.
Kyndahl Bruner, of Purpose Built Physical Therapy, said she has treated patients whose AI-generated exercise programs made their conditions worse. But she also uses AI to reduce paperwork, saving time she can spend on patient care.
For Bruner, helping someone move better starts with getting to know them. That means asking about everything from their medical history to their sleep — personal attention she believes helps protect her profession as technology changes the workplace.
“I think why we're safe is that people are craving that personal connection,” Bruner said.
WATCH: Can AI replace physical therapists? Boise provider weighs in
Her confidence comes as other workers face cuts. Kroger announced Oct. 12 that it plans to eliminate about 3,000 corporate jobs over three years, more than a third of its corporate workforce, as it expands its use of AI and reduces costs.
A Careerminds survey of 3,088 workers ranked physical therapists third among Idaho professionals who felt most secure about their careers, behind auto mechanics and veterinarians.
Those findings measure workers’ confidence, rather than whether their jobs are protected from AI. The Idaho Department of Labor’s JobScape tool also lists an estimated 133 annual openings for physical therapists statewide.
Bruner said some patients have turned to AI for exercise programs that recommended too many repetitions or exercises that were too intense.
“And I've had a lot of people like put into ChatGPT, like give me an exercise program for this. And it just like wrecks them,” she said.
She also questioned whether AI-generated advice adequately accounts for the individual circumstances that can affect a patient’s pain and recovery.
“So if you type in maybe that you have shoulder pain, but AI is not asking you like, what's your diet like? What's your sleep like? What's your history like?” Bruner said.
During her evaluations, Bruner said she spends an hour with patients, discussing their symptoms, medical history and other factors that could influence treatment.
While she has concerns about AI guiding that treatment, she has found benefits in using it for administrative work.
After virtual appointments, Bruner uses AI to summarize sessions, reducing the time she spends on documentation.
“So it just saved me like 20 minutes of me sitting at my computer and typing that all out,” she said.
For Bruner, that means less time typing and more time for the patient care she believes keeps her work valuable.
People considering a career change can use the Idaho Department of Labor’s JobScape tool to compare occupations, wages and education requirements.
