Poll Finds Nurses are Most Trustworthy and Ethical Profession in 2015

Every December, the Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics poll is released to see which profession is the most honest and trustworthy. Each year, since they were added to the list in 1999, nurses have topped the list. The exception is firefighters in 2001, shortly after the Sept 11^th terrorist attacks. That year, firefighters earned 90% honesty and ethics rating.

Nurses tied their high point through the years with an 85% honesty and ethics rating. This means that 85% of the people surveyed rated nurses as very high when it came to honestly and ethical standards. Pharmacists were the second most trustworthy profession with a percentage of 68% followed by medical doctors with a percentage of 67%. What do the top 3 professions have in common? They are all healthcare related. The Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics survey for 2015 shows that Americans have the most trust in the nursing profession almost every year.

Below is a chart of the percentage of people choosing very high or high as a response for the top 4 professions since 2000. As you can see, nurses have been at the top for years and years.

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Ethics and honesty is an essential part of nursing practice. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to ensure the health and safety of patients as well as the health and wellness of other nurses and healthcare professionals around them.

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 2-6, 2015, with a random sample of 824 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The Gallup surveys are conducted by The Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS). The GPSS is a set of public opinion surveys designed to monitor U.S. adults’ views on numerous social, economic, and political topics. The topics are arranged thematically across 12 surveys. Gallup administers these surveys during the same month every year and includes the survey’s core trend questions in the same order each administration.

How would you rate the top professions in the United States? Do you agree with the poll findings? Let us know in the comments section below!