Nurses maintain top spot among trusted professions, but doctors see slippage

At a time when many people no longer trust certain professions or institutions, nurses still command the respect of most Americans.

Nurses remain the most trusted profession, but doctors have seen some slippage, according to a new Gallup poll.

Nurses again topped Gallup’s annual poll of the nation’s most trusted professions. It’s the 23rd consecutive year that nursing has been deemed the most trustworthy job. The latest survey was released this week.

Many Americans continue to hold physicians in high esteem, but public trust in physicians has slipped to the lowest level in years, according to the poll.

Three out of four Americans (76%) say nurses are honest and ethical, according to the Gallup Poll. Nurses held a comfortable gap over other professions, with elementary teachers finishing second (61%) and military officers placing third (59%).

Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, said the poll represents “a special, yet humbling honor.”

“Every year, the results of this poll simply amaze me,” Mensik Kennedy said in a statement. “For 23 years running, the American public continues to trust nurses not only as the most honest and ethical within healthcare, but across industries and professions. This acknowledgement is an undeniable reflection of the positive impact nurses have on the patients they diligently care for and on the health care system they support.”

Doctors ranked among the most trustworthy professions, with a solid majority (53%) saying physicians are honest and ethical. Physicians ranked fifth out of 23 professions in the Gallup poll.

However, public support and trust in physicians has faded in recent years, the Gallup poll found. In fact, Americans’ trust of doctors has fallen to the lowest level since the mid-1990s, according to Gallup.

Since 2021, trust in doctors has plunged 14 percentage points. American trust in doctors reached a peak of 77% in the Gallup poll in 2020, but public trust of doctors has now fallen well below pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when 65% of Americans said physicians were highly trustworthy.

At a time when misinformation about healthcare is running rampant in social media, Geeta Nayyar, MD, says that nurses and doctors can play an important role in helping health systems connect with patients.

She says even patients who may not like doctors or hospitals in general often have good feelings about their own physician, or the pediatrician taking care of their kids.

“The number one driver of trust in healthcare is that doctor-patient relationship,” Nayyar says.

• Read more: Hospitals must fight misinformation, and see it as a threat to their business

Nurses can also play a key role in helping hospitals and health systems build better relationships with patients, she says.

Hospitals and health systems that are looking to build better relationships with patients need to make sure they’re taking care of their doctors and nurses. Nayyar says the quality of the workplace for caregivers is directly linked to the patient experience.

“The truth is, it's the same,” Nayyar says. “There's no such thing as a good patient experience if your nurses and docs are burnt out, pissed off, overworked and underpaid.”

• Read more: Nurses love their work, but not their workplace

A majority of Americans (57%) deem pharmacists highly trustworthy, but they have also seen a dip in public support. In 2021, 63% of pharmacists were deemed honest and ethical.

Nursing home operators continue to struggle with public perception, according to the Gallup poll. Roughly one in five Americans (21%) say nursing home operators are highly ethical and honest, down from 27% in 2021, Gallup said.

• Read more: Doctors report high burnout and low impact of wellness efforts