Most Trusted Professions
Singapore’s most trusted professions
1. Firefighter
2. Doctor
3. Judge
4. Teacher
5. Surgeon
6. Pilot
7. Paramedic
8. Nurse
9. Pharmacist
10. Dentist
yao mo gao chor ah? Dentist is No. 10? People trust firefighters more than doctors and surgeons? Interesting findings there. I certainly hope none of my patients were in that survey, but I can’t help but wonder. To me, firefighters are a rather obscure breed of individuals. I probably know more secret agents than firefighters. But seriously, I’m no snob. I have real friends who are taxi drivers and hawkers. I trust that Alfred and Eddy would take me to my destination via the shortest route. I trust that James won’t try to mask the smell of stale seafood with spices when I visit his stall for supper. Firefighter? Sorry, I can’t recall.
How many firefighters do these folks really know and how did they get to know them? Unless these folks store petrol in their homes, they probably see a doctor more often than they see a firefighter. Could doctors have given them such a bad impression that they would rather have their prescriptions written by a firefighter? Interesting.
Don’t get me wrong. I do trust that if my home is on fire, the guys in the red helmets would be rushing down and risking their lives to save me. Without them I would be literally toast. But frankly, if a doctor, dentist, teacher, pilot, nurse, pharmacist friend (I actually have friends in those professions, even a former judge) and a firefighter whom I hardly know want to borrow money from me, I would give my money to the doctor dentist, teacher, pilot, nurse, pharmacist any day.
So what is it that makes people trust firefighters so much? Do firefighters hold concerts and get the girls screaming when they tear their shirts apart? Do firefighters hang out a lot in public, do a lot of community work, kiss babies, shake hands with hawkers … oops … wrong profession. Is it the civil defence exercises and demonstrations that always have a very big wow factor? Is it Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chia that appeared so cool in the local drama series Lifeline?
I’m sure Gurmit and Michelle have their fans and there are people who rave over Lifeline. But apart from yours truly who never followed the series (I had to do a Google search to recall its name), there are other people who don’t think that much of the fiery series either:
http://faithtoh.blogspot.com/2005/11/lifeline-kills-me.html
So for some strange reason, there are (hopefully intelligent) people who still trust firefighters more than the other listed professions. Do I think it’s a problem? What can I do to improve patient confidence if dentists rank so low in the trusted list? Maybe I should employ an ex-firefighter to collect money from my patients. Or perhaps I should wear a firefighter’s helmet when I work. That should make my patients feel more secure.
