Ethics Ratings Down Among Licensed Professionals
When licensed professionals engage in everyday work activities, they may not be focusing on ethics, but they should. The ethics of 23 professions were measured in Gallup’s annual Honesty and Ethics poll, which was published earlier this year. Here are a few highlights:
- Nurses are at the top of the list for the 22nd consecutive year.
- Almost all professions saw declines in ratings from the previous year.
- Labor union leaders is the only profession that has not declined since 2019.
Nurses are seen as the most trusted profession, and have been for more than 20 years. According to the survey, 78% of adults in the United States believe nurses have high honesty and ethical standards. While that number may seem high, it is actually down seven percentage points from 2019 and 11 points from 2020, when nursing ethics reached its peak.
In addition to nurses, veterinarians, dentists, medical doctors, pharmacists, and engineers saw positive ratings overall. While nurses are seen as the most ethical profession, senators, members of Congress, car salespeople and advertising practitioners are on the other end of the spectrum. They are viewed as the least ethical, with ratings in the single digits. These ratings have worsened or remained flat over the past five years.
While labor union leaders have not seen a decline in ethics ratings in five years, only 25% rate their honesty and ethics as “very high” or “high,” which is very low. Ethics ratings for five professions hit new lows this time around. They include pharmacists (55%), clergy (32%), journalists (19%), senators (8%), and members of Congress (6%).
The ratings of bankers (19%), business executives (12%), and college teachers (42%) were poor this time around, tying their previous low points. The ratings of bankers and business executives were not this low since 2009. College teachers also saw poor ratings that were not this bad since 1977.
All the professions except for veterinarians were measured in both 2019 and 2023. The Gallup poll last asked about veterinarians in 2006. At that time, more than 70% of U.S. adults viewed them as highly or very highly ethical. This is a 6% decrease from the most current rating of 65%.
The full list of professions included in the survey is as follows:
- Nurses
- Veterinarians
- Engineers
- Dentists
- Medical doctors
- Pharmacists
- Police officers
- College teachers
- Psychiatrists
- Chiropractors
- Clergy
- Labor union leaders
- Bankers
- Journalists
- Lawyers
- State governors
- Business executives
- Insurance salespeople
- Stockbrokers
- Advertising practitioners
- Car salespeople
- Senators
- Members of Congress
Keep Your License With Help From a Tampa Administrative & Professional Licensing Lawyer
Ethics is a major issue for licensed professionals. They need to always act in the best interests of clients and consumers or else they could face issues with their licenses.
A Tampa administrative & professional licensing lawyer from The Law Offices of David P. Rankin, P.A. can assist you with licensing issues. I help licensed professionals through their most important transactions and proceedings. Fill out the online form or call (813) 968-6633 to schedule a consultation.
Source:
news.gallup.com/poll/608903/ethics-ratings-nearly-professions-down.aspx
