A Matter of Trust
Public continues to regard nurses highly in honesty and ethics

By Beth Ulrich, Ed.D, RN, South Central Editor
December 17, 2001

The results of the annual CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll ranking the American public's perception of the honesty and ethical standards of professions were released earlier this month. This year, firefighters and the military were added to the list and were ranked first and third, respectively. Nurses, who made the list for the first time three years ago, ranked second. Police and pharmacists rounded out the top five.

In 1999, when nurses were added to the poll, the profession instantly vaulted to the top of the list, with 73 percent of respondents rating nurses' honesty and ethical standards as high (53 percent) or very high (20 percent). In 2000, nurses not only rated highest again, but improved, with 79 percent of respondents rating them high (59 percent) or very high (20 percent). It took the addition of firefighters after the events of Sept. 11 for another profession to supplant nurses from the top spot. Even so, nurses once again improved in the public's perception, with 84 percent rating nurses' honesty and ethical standards as high (57 percent) or very high (27 percent).

Before the addition of nurses, pharmacists had rated highest for 10 consecutive years. In 2001, 68 percent of respondents rated the honesty and ethical standards of pharmacists as high (53 percent) or very high (15 percent), while 66 percent rated MDs as high (49 percent) or very high (17 percent).

The message is clear: The American public trusts the honesty and ethical standards of nurses, and their trust in us is increasing. That trust is an honor, but an honor that also brings with it a duty to continue to earn that trust. Of all the people who walk into patients' rooms each day, the patients and families most often believe that nurses will tell them the truth and that nurses' actions will reflect high ethical standards.

A key area in which the public (which includes our elected representatives and their staffs) depends on nurses for information-and often direction-is in legislation and regulation. In this issue of NURSEWEEK, we have provided you with an overview of the major health care legislation initiatives. Each of us has a duty to become familiar with what each legislative initiative purports to accomplish, determine what we believe it actually will accomplish, and then influence the people who can achieve the outcomes that will best contribute to the public good.

In a time of professional turmoil, with patients getting sicker, the work becoming more difficult and our seemingly eternal internal debates escalating, it is refreshing to see that we have not only maintained-but increased-the public's trust. The public may sometimes be confused about what nurses do or how dependently or independently we practice our profession, but they clearly know whom they trust with their lives. Not a bad way to start the new year.

Visit www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr011205.asp for more information on the survey.

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