A Recent Study Shows That Nurses Rank as the Most Trusted Profession
Jan 14, 2015 | 11:00 am
The Big Picture
According to a 2013 Gallup Poll, the most trusted profession in the country today is the medical nurse. The silver “second place” is taken by the pharmacist and in 3rd place is a physician. Why?
Their close co-operation with patients in critical condition (patient advocacy), and their pivotal role in the hospital, fully earns this trust. Their most treasured qualities singled out include an ethical attitude and open-heart honesty. Nurses have been successfully holding the number one place for more than a decade now. A notable exception was the period around the incident of 9/11 when firefighters won the prize for the highest regard in the hearts and minds of Americans. Naturally, people whose job is directly involved with protecting or restoring human life are at the top of the table and as usual, members of congress are frequently at the very bottom!
People’s Trust
The statistics show that in a survey conducted between a thousand people from the capital, the majority of opinions indicate that the service provided from nurses is exceptionally high, efficient and helpful, which says a lot about a profession that is known to be hard and laborious. Throughout the last decade and more, nurses have achieved a record positive acclaim of eighty-four percent in several inconsecutive years as one of the most trusted professions. Employees in medical establishments have frequently been outlined as the most trusted, most professional, and the ones held at the highest regard by the public.
Tragedies and medical issues do often reinforce the belief of the American people in nurses, doctor, surgeons and medical professionals as someone they need and trust. It’s no coincidence these medical professionals also receive high salaries.
Country’s Trust
New medical policies are also considered friendly towards nurses, at least by some sources. The well-known Affordable Care Act, for example, empowers nurses in various ways, giving them more control and providing them with the opportunity to work in more equal measures with already established and high-ranking staff members, as well as having greater access to medical equipment.
Recently, nationwide positive feedback to nurses’ work has been officially acknowledged with particular attention to the safety and quality of service that nurses provide all across the country. Not only are the nurses popular in the eyes of the general public, but they have also been proving themselves in the eyes of officials. One such popular case is Texas, in 2009, when two nurses successfully accused a physician who was not treating his patients with the necessary attention and care.
Though the job of being a nurse is largely under-praised according to popular opinion, it is in fact a truly prestigious job, even if it is a very difficult one. Nurses are held in high regard both in public perception and in the eyes of the state. A nurse is not merely one of the most trusted professions in the United States, but one we literally cannot live without. It is a job people depend on, and thus, a wonderful career to train for in your collegial ambitions.