Nursing Ranks as the Most Trusted Profession for 15th Consecutive Year

The American public has again ranked nurses as the professionals with the highest honesty and ethical standards, according to a Gallup poll released today. The annual poll marks the 15th consecutive year that nurses have been ranked the most trusted out of a wide spectrum of professions, including medical doctors and police officers.

"Every day, millions of nurses are on the front lines in the fight to improve the health of all Americans," said Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Association (ANA). "Whether nurses are by the bedside or in the board room, we continue to be a trusted resource and a vital part of our nation's health care system. This poll reflects the trust the public has in us, and we'll continue to work hard to keep that trust."

According to the poll, 84 percent of Americans rated nurses' honesty and ethical standards as "very high" or "high." The next closest profession, pharmacists, was rated 17 percentage points behind nursing.

"Trust plays an important role in the relationship between nurses and the patients we serve," said Cipriano. "ANA encourages nurses to draw on that trust to engage with consumers to improve their health and to advocate for patients and for the quality of care in this country. Additionally, I challenge those charged with making health policy at the facility, local, state and national levels, to include the trusted voice of nurses at the decision-making table. Based on this survey, no other profession is held in as high regard by the public. And given nursing's frontline perspective on health care delivery, we offer a point of view that is unmatched."

In 2017, ANA will continue its longstanding efforts to advocate for health system reform. The association is committed to working with the new administration and Congress to advance policy that aligns with its four principles for health system reform: access to care, affordable and equitable care, quality of care and workforce.

Source: American Nurses Association (ANA)