Pharmacists earn high grades for ethics, honesty

Even as cynicism grows about the pharmaceutical industry, Americans continue to view pharmacists as among the most honest and ethical professionals.

According to a recent Gallup poll, pharmacists ranked just behind nurses when it comes to honesty and ethics, tied with medical doctors in second place. Since 2005, nurses have consistently been viewed by Americans as the most honest and ethical professionals.

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“Americans place a high degree of faith and confidence in their pharmacists. Congratulations to our country’s community pharmacists on this impressive achievement and the continuation of a long-running trend in trustworthiness,” said John T. Sherrer, BSPharm, president of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 805 adults. Respondents were asked: “Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields – very high, high, average, low, or very low.” And professionals are ranked by the percentage of respondents rating them either “very high” or “high.” Sixty-five percent of respondents said pharmacists have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards.

Americans views of honestly and ethics, as they relate to specific professions, have not changed much since 2013. During that period, when it comes to ethics and honesty, all of the professions ranked either dropped or stayed the same (with the exception of attorneys, who achieved a small increase in how they are perceived). 

In this year’s poll, Americans viewed business executives, advertising practitioners, car salespeople, and members of Congress the worst grades as the least honest or ethical.