Nurses are the most honest and trusted profession in America, according to a Gallup poll, marking the 18th year in a row the nursing profession has topped the list.

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Details on the poll

For the poll, Gallup collected data via telephone interviews of a random sample of 1,025 participants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents were asked how they would rate the "honesty and ethical standards" of various professions.

The Gallup poll found that medical professionals overall were highly thought of, with at least 60% of Americans saying doctors, pharmacists, and dentists had high honesty and ethical standards.

Nurses topped the list, with 85% of respondents saying nurses' honesty and ethics were "high" or "very high." According to Florence-Health.com, at least 80% of Gallup poll respondents have rated nurses' honesty and ethics as either "high" or "very high" almost every year since Gallup introduced the poll in 2003. The number only dropped below 80% once, in 2004 when it fell to 79%.

Meanwhile, respondents felt car salespeople were the least honest and trusted profession, with 9% of people saying their honesty and ethics were "high" or "very high."

Here's what respondents said about the honesty and ethics of all the professions in the poll:  

Comments

Bonnie Castillo, executive director of National Nurses United, said the group is "honored by this poll and what it reflects—that our patients, their families, and the public know that they can trust and count on nurses to stand up for them."

She added that "the public knows they can depend on nurses to use our collective power to advocate for our patients and the broader conditions that support health, justice, and dignity for all people, especially the most vulnerable among us" (Reinhart, Gallup, 1/6; Hohman, Florence-Health.com, 1/6; Vaidya, Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, 1/6).