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Gallup Survey Shows Nurses Trusted as Most Honest, Ethical for 18th Straight Year

CANTON, Mass. – For the 18th consecutive year, Americans say they trust nurses more than any other profession, according to an annual Gallup survey released on January 6.

Nurses are viewed as having "very high" or "high" ethical and honesty standards by 85 percent of the public, a full 19 points higher than any other profession and significantly higher than professionals such as business executives, who are trusted by just 20 percent of Americans.

"The public trusts nurses because we put the safety of our patients above all else,” Massachusetts Nurses Association President and RN Donna Kelly-Williams said. “Every day in Massachusetts and across the United States, nurses strive to provide the highest quality care despite the massive challenges posed by corporate healthcare. We are inspired by our patients to advocate for safe, accessible care and we appreciate their trust and respect.”

Gallup notes that since nurses were added to the survey in 1999, they have topped the list of most trusted professions every year except in 2001, when firefighters were recognized shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for their heroism and bravery.

“Nurses are consistently rated higher in honesty and ethics than all other professions that Gallup asks about, by a wide margin,” Gallup said in this year’s poll release.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.