For the 23rd year straight, nurses have earned recognition as the most trusted professionals in America.
Seventy-six percent of participants in Gallup's annual Most Honest and Ethical Professions Poll said they consider nurses' honesty and ethical standards to be "high" or "very high," making them the most trusted out of 23 professions included in the survey.
Grade-school teachers came in second, with 61% of U.S. adults rating their trust in the professionals as "high" or "very high." Military officers, pharmacists, and physicians made up the remaining spots in the top five.
"As the president of the American Nurses Association with 29 years of experience in nursing, this is a special, yet humbling honor," Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, said in a statement. "This acknowledgement is an undeniable reflection of the positive impact nurses have on the patients they diligently care for and on the healthcare system they support. What nurses do every day is nothing short of incredible."
Nurses have earned the highest rating since Gallup added them to the survey in 1999, with the exception of 2001, when Americans rated firefighters as the most trusted profession after 9/11.
Lobbyists, members of Congress and television reporters ranked as the least trusted professionals.