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

How often did we as children say these words to those who teased us? Yet we still felt the sting that unkind and malicious words imparted, especially when said by those we trusted. And it didn’t matter if the taunts were untrue—they still hurt.

Words matter—take youth bullying, for example.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both bullies and targets of bullying are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. And bullying in nursing is a well-known occurrence and a significant factor in why nurses leave their jobs.

Words matter and are especially important when laws and policies are created.

The words codified in legislation—and those words excluded—dictate funding, programs, and who can participate in the programs or provide them.

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

I often wonder how many fewer people might have died if more of our leaders had embraced rather than denigrated science-based public health practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Words matter when they are used to spread false information or denigrate certain groups.

We’ve recently seen how unchecked statements harmed a whole community when false claims were spread about immigrants stealing and eating pets of townspeople in Springfield, Ohio.

Words matter. Honorable people use words to speak the truth and therefore do not fear fact-checking.

Words also matter when they are not said.

One expects honorable people to “right the record” when they misspeak or in light of new and verified information.

As highly educated professionals, nurses should apply the same critical thinking skills we use in our work in making other decisions: to listen to what’s being said, question the evidence, and fact-check sources. While it’s not our role to promote our particular views to patients, we can encourage the people we interact with every day to also seek the evidence to make informed decisions.

Words matter and it behooves all of us to listen carefully in these last few days before a consequential election—to what’s said and unsaid.

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

(Autumn road photo by Benjamin Voros/Unsplash)

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