Words matter – even those who remain unsaid

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.

How often as children did we are saying these words to those that teased us? Yet we still felt the sting of unkind and malicious words, especially from people we trusted. And it didn’t matter if the taunts were unfaithful, they still hurt.

Words matter – take youth abuse, for instance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each bullies and targets of bullying exist high risk for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. AND bullying in nursing is a well known phenomenon and a vital factor causing nurses to depart their jobs.

Words matter and are especially necessary when creating laws and policies.

The words codified within the laws – and people excluded – determine funding, programs and who can take part in or provide programs.

Words matter and are especially powerful when spoken by public officials who can influence dozens of followers to think and behave in certain ways.

I often wonder what number of fewer people might need died if more of our leaders had embraced science-based public health practices quite than denigrated them in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Words matter once they are used to spread false information or denigrate specific groups.

We have recently seen unverified claims made wronged entire community when false claims were spread about immigrants stealing and eating the pets of residents of Springfield, Ohio.

Words matter. Honest people use words to inform the reality and subsequently should not afraid to envision facts.

Words also matter once they should not said.

Honest individuals are expected to “correct their testimony” once they make a mistake or in the sunshine of recent and verified information.

As well-educated professionals, nurses should apply the identical critical considering skills we use in our work to make other decisions: take heed to what’s being said, query evidence, and check sources of facts. While it just isn’t our role to advertise our views to patients, we will encourage those we interact with every day to also seek evidence to make informed decisions.

Words matter, and it behooves us all to listen rigorously in these previous couple of days before the following elections – to what is alleged and unsaid.

Author: Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN; retired editor-in-chief, American Journal of Nursing, and contributing editor, JAMA Health Forum.

(Fall road photo: Benjamin Voros/Unsplash)