Nurses are a trusted source of health information and should have more influence on efforts to reduce medical errors, increase the quality of care, promote wellness and reduce health care costs, according to a recent Gallup survey of opinion leaders. However, respondents said nurses are not perceived as important decision makers or revenue generators, key barriers to greater influence. "We must build on the widespread trust of nurses' expertise as an essential component in leading and implementing reform," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which sponsored the poll of opinion leaders in various industries. Pamela Rudisill, president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, an AHA subsidiary, said, "The survey reinforces the role of nurses as change agents and catalysts for improving health care, but we as a profession must do a better job of educating the public and opinion makers to the value of nursing in executive decision making."