Why isn't the Center all that excited that the public "trusts" nurses?

Q: Why aren't you more excited that public opinion polls often put nurses at the top of the list of "most trusted" and "most ethical" professions?

A: Of course, there's nothing inherently bad about being trusted! A desire to care for others (as opposed to money, power or status) has traditionally been a major factor in why people choose to become nurses. And the public has tended to recognize that such care givers generally have their patients' best interests at heart.

The reason the "most trusted" poll results don't do too much for us is that this public view often goes hand in hand with the prevailing vision of nurses as devoted, angelic handmaidens. Of course, it's possible that a particular member of the public might fully understand how highly skilled nurses are and still "trust" them greatly. But given that public understanding of the nursing profession appears to remain very poor, we fear that the poll results are essentially an expression of a vague, sentimental affection for nurses flowing from the above stereotypes. As one experienced nurse lamented: "They trust us to hold their wallets while they're in surgery. But not to save their lives."

We can't help noticing that some of the professions near the bottom of the "trusted" list-- such as lawyers, journalists, and ad writers--do not seem to be suffering from any crisis in terms of supply of willing workers, working conditions, job benefits or social status. We wonder how many of the people who "trust" nurses so much would react if their son, or bright, ambitious daughter, announced that he or she wanted to be a nurse.

Polling can measure many things, and much depends on the wording of questions and the context in which they are asked. In this case, we believe it would be a mistake to imagine that the word '"trust" implied genuine respect for professional skill. In this sense, putting too much stock in these poll results may actually be a dangerous illusion.

See the latest Gallup poll on ethical and trusted professionals.

last updated: December 17, 2006