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Gallup Survey Says: Nursing Still America's Most Trusted Profession

For the fourth consecutive year, nurses have earned the top spot on Gallup's annual survey among professions on honesty and ethical standards, with 82 percent of Americans giving the profession a "very high" or "high" rating. Since being added to the list in 1999, nurses have held this distinction all but one year - in 2001 - when firefighters received the highest ranking following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"What patients often remember most fondly about their health care experience are their nurses," said Curt M. Selquist, company group chairman, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. "The role of nurses is central and very special to the welfare, comfort and recovery of patients."

The survey, which ranked 21 professions on a five-point scale, reveals that Americans continue to give their highest ratings to public service professions, including nurses, doctors and teachers. This ranking not only affirms the public's trust in nurses, but offers inspiration to those entering the profession, like Bessie Frimpong, a nursing student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.

"Nursing is caring and service to our fellow citizens by going above and beyond," said Frimpong, who spoke at the Johnson & Johnson Promise of Nursing Gala in New Jersey earlier this year. "I've chosen this profession to not only touch, but also to transform people's lives."

The public's high esteem for the profession may be a critical factor in the double-digit increases in recent years in the percentage of nursing school applications.

"Nurses are a wonderful example to all of us-working in difficult circumstances with grace, professionalism and caring," said Selquist. "In honor of National Nurses Week this May, we salute nurses and future nurses everywhere."

Georgia Nurse Practitioners Gain
"The Right to Write" Prescriptions

As more health care moves beyond the hospital to other sites in the community, lawmakers are looking especially to nurse practitioners (NPs) to help meet the escalating need for high-quality, and accessible and affordable health care.

Following a proposal that won legislative approval in late March, Georgia will become the 50th state in the U.S. to allow nurse practitioners prescription authority. Existing Georgia law allows NPs to phone in pre-existing prescriptions.

The new law, set to take effect on July 1, 2006, is the result of more than a decade of extensive lobbying by advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and their supporters, who have argued that the change will help alleviate a critical shortage of health care professionals in under-served areas of the state, particularly in rural communities and health clinics serving the disadvantaged.

"Passage of this bill is not only a victory for nurses, but for all Georgians as well," said Tanya Sommers, RN, a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatrics. "It will impact our health care system immensely by providing many individuals and families in significant need with better access to health care services, as well as encourage more APRNs to practice in this state."

Recognized as expert health care providers, NPs provide information people need to make informed decisions about their health care and lifestyle choices. These registered nurses, with advanced education and clinical training in a health care specialty, individualize their care by focusing on the effects health problems have on people and their families. Their skills in developing patient education strategies, applying ethical and legal principles to complex health care situations, and developing effective care plans, make NPs the providers of choice for a range of front-line health services.

"Nurse practitioners are vital to the preservation of the health care industry," said Andrea Higham, director of The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future. "Their advanced skills and dedication to their patients is admirable and further demonstrates the value of the nursing profession and its mission."

Today's NPs are more educated and work more independently, as well as in more specialties, and in more settings. As they continue to demonstrate their value and cost effectiveness, their worth is being reflected in their salaries. The 2005 National Salary Survey of Nurse Practitioner, conducted by Advance for Nurse Practitioners, shows that the average annual full-time salary for a nurse practitioner has reached $74,812-an 8.1 percent increase over the average just two years ago, when the last survey was conducted.

For more information on the Georgia bill, visit the United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia web site at http://www.uaprn.org/.

The Los Angeles Promise of Nursing Gala was the final gala held in 2006. Pictured above from left to right are Liz Hahn, RN, St. Joseph Hospital, Orange; Curt Selquist, company group chairman, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems; Linda Burnes-Bolton, vice president of nursing, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Claudia Rosenfeld, vice president of human resources, Hospital Association of Southern California; Andrea Higham, director, The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future; Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; and Bill Kenny, RN, Children's Hospital, Los Angeles.

Promise of Nursing Galas Raise
Over $9 Million

Since its inception in February 2002, The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future has been dedicated to ensuring the quality of health care by spotlighting the nursing profession and addressing such critical issues as nurse and faculty shortage through education and resources. As part of the Campaign, funds from the Promise of Nursing galas, which are held in conjunction with local hospitals, nursing schools and nursing organizations, have raised over $9 million to support nursing school programs in regions where the shortage is most acute. The galas aim to relieve the financial strain on nursing students, faculty and programs by raising funds in cities where the shortage is most acute. These funds remain under local control in the states where the dollars were raised for scholarships, faculty stipends and special program funding.

Since 2002, twenty Promise of Nursing Galas have been held in 11 states, including in Ariz., Calif., Fla., Ga., Ill., Mass., Mich., N.J., N.Y., Tenn. and Texas.

For more information on obtaining funds from the 2006 Promise of Nursing galas or to apply for a scholarship, visit www.discovernursing.com/scholarship_search.aspx or www.nsna.org/foundation/index.asp.

Cheirel P.
RNC
Los Angeles, CA

I have worked many different job positions, but find tI knew I was going to be a nurse from the time I could walk. By age four, I attempted my first ophthalmic surgery on my sleeping mom. Let's just say that didn't go over so well. Nursing has been an exciting field that has allowed me to reinvent myself many times. I obtained my first degree as an LVN by age 19. Although I never worked as an LVN, I had a full appreciation for the job, something that helped while working in a team setting. Two years later, I had completed my R.N. program and started my first job as a med/surg. nurse. I'm often asked if I find nursing boring. It's impossible, since every day there is a new adventure. I have been a bedside nurse, a perioperative nurse, and have taught nursing. For the past 16 years, the most rewarding career of all has been as a Nurse Practitioner. I look forward to my next adventure. I have met some wonderful people that have also happened to be my patients. I can only hope that I have touched their lives, hearts, and souls as they have mine.

Continuing the Gift of Continuing Education

In celebration of National Nurses Week, The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future is proudly sponsoring a free continuing education course,"Precepting: The Chance to Shape Nursing's Future," which will focus on the critical role of nursing preceptors and the impact they have on quaity of care.

Published this May in both Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek magazines, the course is also offered online at http://www.nursingspectrum.com/ and at http://www.nurseweek.com/

Since first introduced in 2003, nearly 50,000 nurses have successfully completed one of these sponsored courses, which can be used toward the renewal of nursing licenses.

For additional information or to complete the course now, visit http://www.nursingspectrum.com/.