CNO Roundtable 2023

Question 1: Public Trust In Nurses

Why do you think the public has such a strong trust in nurses?

By Aaron SeversonMay 3, 2023

3 min read

A Gallup poll recently named nursing the most trusted profession for the 21st consecutive year. Our panel discusses some reasons for the public’s abiding confidence in nurses.

Nancy Blake, LAC+USC Medical Center

Nurses offer compassionate, nurturing care to patients in their most vulnerable moments. Also, nurses are skilled at breaking news — both good and bad — in ways that are both therapeutic and supportive.

Annabelle Duschane Braun, MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center

Nurses play many roles for patients and their families: advocate, comforter, teacher, cheerleader, and confidant. Nurses are there at every milestone, whether it is the birth of a child or holding the hand of a dying patient.

Lori Burnell, Valley Presbyterian Hospital

Throughout the pandemic, nurses persevered with resiliency and compassion, risking their own health and safety for the sake of others. Through their acts and deeds, nurses are undoubtably deserving of the public’s unwavering trust.

Gloria Carter, Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center

Patients spend the most time with nurses, often in the absence of family and friends — nurses are omnipresent in every care experience. Sadly, it took the pandemic to remind many people what nurses have always been: unsung heroes.

Nursing Education

Certificate ProgramCSUN Certificate in Perioperative Nursing

Campus ProgramsAzusa Pacific University School of Nursing

All Colleges

Katie Hughes, Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare

Many characteristics associated with nursing resonate with people, including empathy, dependability, and adaptability. It is usually a nurse that provides a word of encouragement or helps translate healthcare jargon into practical information. Those moments can be profound.

Joyce Leido, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center

Nurses have earned that trust through their compassion, hard work, and unwavering commitment to patients’ wellbeing. Nurses hold patients’ hands when they’re scared, provide comfort when they are in pain, and advocate for patients when they can’t advocate for themselves.

Theresa Murphy, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital

I think one reason nurses are consistently chosen as the most trusted profession is that our patients need to trust us. We enter their lives at their most vulnerable moments and ensure that they are supported as they navigate health challenges.

RN Career Events

Sunday, February 9Association of California Nurse LeadersACNL Annual Program 2025

Wednesday, November 27UCLA HealthWalk-In Wednesdays UCLA Wilshire Center

Wednesday, December 4UCLA HealthWalk In Wednesday UCLA West Valley Medical Center

All Events

Tanya Osborne-McKenzie, MLK Community Healthcare

Most people know someone who is a nurse, and nurses work with people at their most vulnerable. So, people are likely to trust nurses. More important is that nurses continue to give our patients reasons to hold us in such high esteem.

Gloria Sanchez-Rico, Huntington Health

It’s a privilege for a nurse to care for patients when they are at their most vulnerable and put their complete trust in you. At the end of the day, patients and their loved ones will remember how you cared for them.

Dianne Sauco PIH Health, Downey Hospital

Nurses are at patients’ bedsides every day, which allows time to build trust and rapport with patients and their families. As nurses, we know that caring for patients goes beyond the medicines we provide and the dressings we change.

Darlene Scafiddi, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center

There is a special connection that a patient makes with their nursing team that naturally builds trust. Nurses are there for the patient and their family during highs and lows, ensuring that their needs are met and offering compassion and support. ■

Return to the CNO Roundtable 2023 main page to read more.

In this Article: Career Advice, Leadership and Management