Gallup, a popular polling and public opinion outlet, conduct telephone interviews every year on various topics. They happen to conduct annual polls on what profession can be trusted the most in America.

The results are in – once again Americans believe that nurses have the highest honesty and ethical standards, far above any other profession.

Out of 11 professions, 80% of Americans voted nurses as the most trusted profession. Medical doctors and pharmacists were tied at 65% of the votes. And members of Congress only received 7% of the votes for comparison sake*.

2014 Gallup Survey Background

Nurses were first introduced into the poll in 1999 and since then have scored high rates on the list. A few exceptions were from 2001 in which firefighters were the highest rated in response to the September 11 attacks. Other than this, nurses have seen very high trust rates consistently since 2005.

The results come in from telephone interviews that were conducted from December 8-11, 2014. A random sample of 805 Americans are used, aged 18 or older, living in all 50 states and Washington D.C. Each sample of adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% land-line respondents. This ensures that results are statistically significant.

What This Means for Nurses?

This means nurses should take pride in what they do because Americans clearly trust their word even more so than medical professionals who have years of extra schooling and experience on their belts.

“Patient-Centered Care” is what most hospital institutions instill within their nursing team as nurses are at the forefront of all patient interaction. Simply put, patients put their trust in nurses to make the best decisions based on LISTENING to their needs and acting accordingly.

An excellent nurse will learn from these results and make sure they adopt the right attitudes that result in high patient satisfaction – which can be difficult as patients are not enthusiastic being in a hospital setting for any reason.

*The full detailed survey results could be found on Gallup here.