The public's image of doctors, dentists, and pharmacists

The basic purpose of this study was to evaluate the public's image of three health professions. Q questionnaire was administered by telephone to a random sample of 150 residents of a southern metropolitan area. Respondents were asked to evaluate seven professions on (1) social standing (prestige), (2) honest and ethical standards, (3) importance to society and nation, and (4) interesting and challenging occupation. Overall findings indicate that doctors rated significantly higher than dentists, and pharmacists in all areas except honest and ethical standards. The three groups were rated equally on this factor. Cross tabulations of respondents by income, age, education, and sex revealed that there were no significant differences in the ratings of these groups on the basis of socio-economic characteristics of respondents except for pharmacists. Male respondents rated pharmacists significantly lower than female respondents.