Public opinion polling agency Gallup reported that 80% of Americans rate the honesty and ethics of nurses as high or very high. It’s not the first time the poll found such high appreciation for nurses either; we’ve mentioned it before. In fact, “Americans have been asked to rate the honesty and ethics of various professions annually since 1990. [..] Since 2005, at least 80% of Americans have said nurses have high ethics and honesty.”
Just 2% of Americans assess the honesty and ethics of nurses as low, this latest poll found. That’s in striking contrast with some other professions … not least of all Members of Congress. We’ve digested the poll’s main findings in an infographic:
Laurie
I’m not surprised that RN’s have such a high rating. I would be interested in the breakdown between home health nurses and other disciplines. It is also noteworthy that MD’s don’t always have such a high rating and I think that it is partly because there are quite a few MD’s that are in the pockets of the big pharmaceuticals and companies that manufacture specific medical devices. I can think of one very clear example that concerned a patient that needed a replacement heart valve. He did lousy on mechanical valves in the past, but did really well with a cow valve. I counseled him to get another cow valve and the surgeon talked him into a new mechanical valve, knowing his past medical history as all the procedures were done at the same medical facility with almost disasterous results. He lived, but is now a cardiac cripple. As for Congress, well its common knowledge that many elections are bought and paid for and they care more for the people or corporations putting money into their pockets than they do their constituents. I believe that we need to make everybody adhere to the same ethical standards that nurses overall adhere to.
David podlesnik
I have been a nurse since 1999.Been an RN supervisor since 2005.