Introduction: Nursing as the most trusted profession Body: Listing of the ANA Code of ethics for nurses

1. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
(American Nursing Association)

2. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
Nursing is the leading profession when it comes to
ethics and honesty, according to a well-known poll.
Among professions surveyed by the annual Gallup
honesty/ethics poll, nurses have been at the top of
the list since 2001, and remain there after the latest
survey conducted in December 2016. In that survey,
84% of respondents rated nurses as being very high
or high as professionals who are honest and ethical.
Nurses ranked at the top among 22 professions
listed in the most recent survey.

3. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
“For the 15th consecutive year nursing again has
received the amazing honor of being ranked the
most trusted profession in the country by the
American public,” said Eileen Williamson, MSN, RN,
senior vice president and chief nurse executive at
Nurse.com. “Few designations could be more of a
professional badge of honor than being named first
among the 22 professions surveyed in the Gallup
poll for honesty and ethical standards. As a nurse, I
could not be more proud of what the public thinks
of my colleagues and the nursing profession.”

4. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
In the survey, respondents are asked to rate the
honest and ethical standards of people in
different fields, choosing among very high, high,
average, low and very low. For the past 15 years,
pharmacists and medical doctors ranked just
below nurses, with members of Congress at the
bottom of the list. This year, 67% of respondents
rated pharmacists high or very high and 65%
rated medical doctors high or very high.

5. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
In all 15 years, no lower than 79% of
respondents ranked nurses as high or very high
in honesty and ethics, according to the Gallup
poll. “We’re allowed into some of the most
private moments and important times of
patients’ lives,” Williamson said. “Our focus on
confidentiality and professionalism shows and
both patients and the general public have
noticed.”

6. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
Gallup conducts the surveys via telephone interviews
with a random sampling of ate least 1,000 adults ages 18
and older living in the U.S. The margin of sampling error
for this year’s survey was + or – 4 percentage points,
according to Gallup. “Few other professions [besides
healthcare] fare so well in Gallup’s annual look at honesty
and ethical standards among various fields,” wrote Jim
Norman, in a Dec. 19 online article posted on
Gallup.com.“Healthy majorities of the American public
continue to show a willingness to trust the honest and
ethical standards of healthcare providers — nurses,
doctors, pharmacists and dentists,” he wrote.

7. Nurses rank # 1 once again in Gallup
poll for ethics and honesty
Nurses have topped the list every year but once
since Gallup began including nursing in the polls in
1999. Firefighters topped the list in 2001, when
Gallup included that profession in its survey after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “Whether nurses are by
the bedside or in the board room, we continue to
be a trusted resource and a vital part of our nation’s
healthcare system,” Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN,
NEA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses
Association, said in an ANA news release. “This poll
reflects the trust the public has in us, and we’ll
continue to work hard to keep that trust.”

9. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 1
The nurse practices with compassion and
respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and
unique attributes of every person.

10. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 2
The nurse’s primary commitment is to the
patient, whether an individual, family, group,
community, or population.

11. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 3
The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects
the rights, health, and safety of the patient.

12. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 4
The nurse has authority, accountability, and
responsibility for nursing practice; makes
decisions; and takes action consistent with the
obligation to promote health and to provide
optimal care.

13. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 5
The nurse owes the same duties to self as to
others, including the responsibility to promote
health and safety, preserve wholeness of
character and integrity, maintain competence,
and continue personal and professional growth.

14. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 6
The nurse, through individual and collective effort,
establishes, maintains, and improves the ethical
environment of the work setting and conditions of
employment that are conducive to safe, quality
health care.

15. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 7
The nurse, in all roles and settings, advances the
profession through research and scholarly
inquiry, professional standards development,
and the generation of both nursing and health
policy.

16. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 8
The nurse collaborates with other health
professionals and the public to protect human
rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce
health disparities.

17. ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses
Provision 9
The profession of nursing, collectively through
its professional organizations, must articulate
nursing values, maintain the integrity of the
profession, and integrate principle of social
justice into nursing and health policy.

18. References
ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses (2015)
Nurse.com article, “Nurses rank #1 again in
Gallup poll for ethics and honesty” (2018)

19. Powerpoint uploaded by:
Guy C. Lamunyon MSN, RN
Director of Nursing
College and University Nursing Instructor
US Army Nurse – Lieutenant Colonel, Retired
VA Mental Health Nurse, Retired
VA Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice
Nurse (Management)
Hall of Fame Award – California Association
of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
Contact: Glamunyon@aol.com