Nurses once again topped the Gallup poll’s annual ranking of how Americans view 22 major professions with 84 percent of the public rating their honesty and ethical standards as “high” or “very high.” Nurses have ranked first for 15 consecutive years and every year except for one in the 18 years that Gallup has surveyed public opinion on what profession is most trusted.
“Patients, their families, and the public at large understand that when they are the most vulnerable, they can count on nurses,” said Deborah Burger, RN, co-president of National Nurses United (NNU). “As nurses we are guided by the values of caring, compassion, and community, and we will go to any length to advocate for our patients and they know that.”
“Our role as patient advocates is more critical than ever in a healthcare system where profit margins and executive wealth are put ahead of caring and public safety,” said Burger. “Our patient advocacy role has led us to become very active in the public arena, especially in leading national efforts to guarantee healthcare for all and challenge price gouging by pharmaceutical, insurance, and hospital corporations.”
After the elections in November, NNU members rallied outside the nation’s Capitol in support of Medicare and then visited the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to express opposition to Republican plans to dismantle Medicare.
“The November election results did not give anyone a mandate to dismantle one of the most popular public programs in U.S. history, Medicare. As nurses, we are absolutely opposed to Rep. Paul Ryan’s schemes to destroy it by converting it into a program that further enriches the insurance industry and denies care to seniors, because they can’t afford it,” said Jean Ross, NNU co-president.
“Medicare works and that’s why we think it should be expanded so that everyone in our nation has access to quality care regardless of their ability to pay. Nurses will make our voices heard across the country in the face of the threat of privatization and profiteering off sickness, which is at the heart of the Ryan proposal,” Ross said.
This article was adapted from information provided by NNU.
