Once again, the annual Gallup poll has recognized nursing as the most honest and trusted profession.

This is the 16th consecutive year nurses have held onto the top spot, and they have been number one in each year since the poll started in 1999 except for one. In 2001, firefighters were included on the list, and with their overwhelming bravery in response to 9/11 attacks, they earned the top spot.

In the yearly telephone poll, a random selection of citizens are asked to rate the professions they find most trustworthy. Of the top five professions rated for ethics and honesty, the medical field is well represented with nurses (no. 1), medical doctors (no. 3), and pharmacists (no. 5). Rounding out the top five are military officers (no. 2) and grade school teachers (no. 3).

Of the respondents, 82 percent rated nurses as “high” or “very high” for honesty and ethical standards (choices included those two plus “average,” “low,” and “very low”). Military officers had a 71 percent rating in the same category. Overall, the Gallup poll rated 22 professions including police officers, bankers, television reporters, car salespeople, lobbyists, lawyers, and clergy. Lobbyists took the bottom spot with only 8 percent of respondents rating their honesty and ethical standards as “high” or “very high.”

This year’s poll was conducted in early December, with a total of 1,049 respondents. The respondents were a mix of political parties, which reflected larger party-based gaps for some professions, but not nursing.

The Gallup poll reflects a worldwide sense of trust in nurses. Britain’s Ipsos MORI Veracity Index 2017 (from a social research institute) also ranked nurses as number one most trusted profession by respondents.

See also
Inclusion, Part 2: Changing the Culture

Nurses know the poll is a public acknowledgment of the caring, life-saving work they do every single day. Congratulations to all the nurses out there—the ethical standards you follow every day are noticed by the people you care for those who love them.

Julia Quinn-Szcesuil
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