Gallup Ranks Nurses #1 in Honesty, Ethics, 16 of Past 17 Years 

“With an 85 percent honesty and ethics rating – tying their high point – nurses have no serious competition atop Gallup ranking this year.” That’s the conclusion of the Gallup’s annual ranking of how Americans view 21 major professions – the 16^th time in the 17 years, and 14 years in a row, that Gallup has surveyed public opinion on what profession is most trusted.

Gallup poll results

“Patients, their families, the public at large understand that it is nurses they count on when at their most vulnerable and in need of the nurses’ core values of caring, compassion and community,” said Jean Ross, RN, co-president of America’s largest RN organization, National Nurses United.

“That level of trust is more critical than ever as we see the health care industry increasingly put profit margins and executive wealth ahead of caring and public safety. At a time when a Martin Shkreli has become the face of an industry characterized by greed, it is always nurses who will be there for patients. That’s a bond that is sacred to all of us,” Ross said.

While advocating for patients and families at the bedside, NNU members have expanded that role to the public arena, especially in leading national efforts to guarantee healthcare for all, and challenging price gouging by pharmaceutical, insurance, and hospital corporations.

Notably, with some 29 million Americans still uninsured, and medical bills remaining the leading cause of bankruptcy even with the Affordable Care Act in place, polling shows a majority of Americans still favor expanding Medicare to cover everyone, an issue NNU has championed for many years, and a centerpiece of NNU’s endorsed Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

NNU members have also been active in campaigning against the health harm caused by pollution and the climate crisis, and calling for increased public revenues, especially through a tax on Wall Street speculation, to fund human needs.