Thank a nurse.

• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS - Brief article - Statistical data

Who are the most trusted professionals in America? Nurses have earned that honor in 13 of the past 14 annual Gallup Polls, which ask respondents to rank 22 occupations for honesty, trustworthiness and ethics. National Nurses Week is May 6-12, and today, the profession is bracing for a tsunami of need. Legislatures are looking at various proposals that affect them, such as permitting advanced practice nurses and nurse anesthetists to treat patients without a doctor's supervision and to prescribe drugs. Below, a few statistics about the people on the front line.

No. 1 Projected rank, in terms of job growth through 2020 1 in 5 Health-care sector's share of all jobs created in 2011 260,000 Projected shortage of...