Pages

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Most Trustworthy Professions

Gallup recently took a poll to determine which professions were considered most trustworthy, and it turns out to no one's surprise that nurses rank at the top. The results are shown on this chart:
I'm not sure what to make of this, actually. I don't begrudge nurses the esteem in which they're held, and perhaps I'm just picking nits, but it seems to me that trust matters most when you find yourself in a situation in which you have conflicting interests with other persons, or when the other person has an incentive to be less than truthful or honest with you, or a reason to somehow exploit you for his or her benefit.

It seems to me that that's rarely the case with nurses, or most of the other professions which finished in the top five. Their interests simply don't collide with those of the people with whom they have to deal, so, although it's good that people hold them in such high regard, I don't know how significant it is that they are, as a collective, considered highly trustworthy.

On the other hand, it'd be good for members of those professions whose interests often do conflict with the interests of those who place their trust in them to examine why they don't enjoy a higher level of public confidence than they do and to resolve to raise the level of respect in which their profession is held.