It's been this way for quite some time. In fact, a few years ago pharmacists were ranked number one, ahead of every other profession surveyed, including clergy, judges, etc. Part of the reason for the lower ranking for physicians is they are frequently considered rude, impersonal, and unavailable while nurses and pharmacists are considered more friendly and available.
The gallup poll released at the end of 1999 ranks nurses higher than pharmacists, who are higher than mds, who rank higher than judges, who rank higher than dentists. The ranking of dentists is somewhat surprising to me...guess I had a great dentist growing up.