Nurses viewed as most honest profession, members of Congress bringing up the rear

     In this file photo, a nurse practitioner speaks with a patient who is in her first trimester (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo, File)

    In this file photo, a nurse practitioner speaks with a patient who is in her first trimester (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo, File)

    NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller sits down for his weekly conversation with Gallup’s Frank Newport to talk about trends in U.S. opinion.

    Every December, Gallup updates Americans’ views of the honesty and ethics of different professions.

    Interestingly, four out of the top five professions are in the health field.

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    Once again, nurses are at the top of the list — viewed as the most honest and ethical profession of any tested.

    In addition to nurses, the top five includes pharmacists, medical doctors, and dentists. The only non-medical profession in the top five are engineers.

    Moving to the bottom of the list, we find — drum-roll, please — members of Congress, with only an 8 percent very high/high honesty rating. This is not unusual. Congress people have been at or near the bottom of the list for years. This is not optimal.

    Others at the bottom of the list include car salespeople, insurance sales people, advertising practitioners, and stockbrokers.

    Two professions with sharp drops in perceived honesty in recent years include college teachers, and clergy.

    What percentage of the U.S. population today identifies with a Christian religion? It’s still the dominant religion, by far, but slightly less so than in the past.

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