Gallup poll: Nurses, pharmacists most trusted professionals across all professions

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Medical professionals continue to rank among the most-trusted officials, according to the latest annual Gallup survey around popular perception of professional honesty and ethics, particularly pharmacists.  

"Six medical professional categories were included in this year's update," the poll taker posted Monday on its web site. "Nurses' high rating this year is not unexpected; they have scored at the top of all professions every year since they were first included in the list in 1999 — apart from 2001, when Gallup asked about 'firefighters' on a one-time basis after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Nurses receive a 10-percentage-point higher rating than pharmacists, who in turn are five points above medical doctors."

The honesty ratings of all of these medical professions are at the highest levels in Gallup's history, the research firm added. "Pharmacists are two points higher than their previous record. Pharmacists routinely topped the list before Gallup began including nurses."

"An impressive 75% of respondents categorized pharmacists very high/high by the honesty and ethics standard," noted National Community Pharmacists Association CEO Douglas Hoey. "Since the audience is the American people, this ranking is a testimony to the good will generated by the patient-friendly approach of pharmacists who are accessible, responsive and take tremendous pride helping patients achieve the best health outcomes at the lowest costs," he said. “In the Gallup’s more than three-decade-old survey the level of respect for pharmacists has been consistently high. … Our hope is that the decision makers in the private and public sector who make policy and choose prescription drug plans will tap further into the expertise and results pharmacists can bring to health care. For example, the trust that Americans place in their pharmacists makes these highly trained health care professionals a prime resource to help improve outcomes and reduce costs by boosting patient compliance with their prescribed medication regimen.”