Nurses tops in ethics, honesty: poll

Nurses are the most honest and ethical professionals, according to Americans participating in a recent Gallup poll. Nurses ranked first of 22 professions rated in the research, with 82 percent of respondents rating their honesty and ethical standards as “high” or “very high,” according to the organization.

Nursing home operators were 10th on the list, with 32 percent of poll-takers‒an all-time high‒saying they have high or very high honesty and ethical standards. Other healthcare professionals rated include pharmacists (second) and medical doctors (fourth), with 70 percent and 69 percent of respondents, respectively, saying those professionals have high or very high honesty and ethical standards.

Gallup first conducted the poll in 1976, and it became an annual occurrence in 1990. With one exception, nurses have topped the list since Gallup included the profession in 1999; the only deviation was in 2001, when the organization asked poll-takers about firefighters due to their role in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Firefighters aren’t usually among the positions included in the poll.

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Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.