Ethics

Over the weekend, I read an article about the latest ethics ratings among professionals in the United States. Gallup conducted a poll in December 2023, asking approximately 800 participants to rate ethics among 23 professions.1 The poll found that Nurses scored the highest, with veterinarians, engineers, dentists, and medical doctors completing the top 5 list. Notably, Nurses topped the list for the 22nd consecutive year. Bravo to all the nurses for their outstanding service, taking care of us even though most of them work long hours and, in some cases, are underpaid.

Before going further, let me add one definition of ethics to set the stage:

“Ethics is the study of moral obligations, or of separating right from wrong. Ethics can also be a plural noun meaning the accepted guidelines of behavior for groups or institutions.”2

Reading the article, it was interesting to see that pharmacists are losing ground on ethics, and it seems like people are saying that their standard of honesty and professionalism is diminishing. I only know of one case where a pharmacist violated ethical standards. The case hit close to home as it was the pharmacy that my mom used to visit for her prescriptions. The pharmacist pleaded guilty in 2021 to participating in a felony conspiracy to convert government property and to commit healthcare fraud in connection with the illegal vaccination of minors between the ages of 7 to 11 with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.3

Not surprisingly, Senators and Members of Congress are at the bottom of the list. Not much to say here since everybody knows why. Clergy came in at number eleven, and it seems that people’s perspective on their ethics, similar to pharmacists, is also diminishing. This is particularly interesting to me because, as a Christian, I expect clergy to be in the top 3, but that’s not the case. A sad commentary on the church.

I know that the sexual abuse cases against the Catholic church are well-documented, and people all over the world are aware of the issue. The Protestant church is not guiltless, but the Catholic Church, being a global religious institution, is subject to heightened scrutiny. The Protestant church has numerous cases against them, but I’m going to highlight three cases as an example. The first one, probably known to many, is about Ravi Zacharias, a famous Christian apologist, and his unethical and sexual misconduct in massage parlors and other places.4 Another is the issue with Matt Chandler, Pastor of the Village Church and director of the board of the Acts 29 Network. In 2022, he stepped down as a pastor due to an inappropriate online relationship with a woman.5 He was restored to the pastorate a few months later. Then we have the cases in the Southern Baptist Convention with a long list of pastors accused of abuse, like the case of Paul Pressler, who has been accused of sexual abuse since 2004.6 With all these issues, no wonder why Christians starting on the faith are leaving the church. These issues don’t affect my faith, but sometimes I wonder, what version of Jesus’ life and teachings are they reading?

We are all humans and far from perfection. Leaders, including pharmacists and pastors, are answering a call to serve, and some have sworn an oath. Like the above definition states, they have some moral obligations, to do what’s right and to behave in a way that follows the accepted guidelines of society. Society depends on these professionals to provide medical care, counseling, security, and to formulate laws that run this country. We expect better, and they should meet our expectations.

  1. https://news.gallup.com/poll/608903/ethics-ratings-nearly-professions-down.aspx ↩︎
  2. Dubrin, Andrew J. Leadership – Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. (pp. 169). 
    Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company ↩︎
  3. https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/94760 ↩︎
  4. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/ravi-zacharias-rzim-investigation-sexual-abuse-sexting-rape.html ↩︎
  5. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/30/megachurch-pastor-matt-chandler-instagram/7938054001/ ↩︎
  6. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2024/january/southern-baptist-abuse-paul-pressler-sbc-settlement.html ↩︎

25 thoughts on “Ethics”

  7. Well said Edward!!! Maybe we should have the nurses run our country and we’d be in better shape!
    Ethics you said it best: that we should expect more rightfully so! And better yet maybe the pharmaceutical companies can’t stick it to the politicians or are they in it together.
    One would think clergyman, pastors, priest’s and leaders would be the most honest.
    It’s big business and sad at that! Great post!
    💕🙌

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  8. Edward, very interesting and thought provoking. Yes, we should expect better. I remember taking Business Ethics when studying for my MBA and thinking, “Isn’t this stuff our parents should have taught us? If folks don’t know right from wrong and to follow the rules by now, this class isn’t going to get them in line.” What I’ve learned is that “leaders” may come and go, but that doesn’t mean I have to follow if they are not leading me where I want to go.

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