AMA citation style is the referencing system of the American Medical Association, used in medicine, nursing, public health and many health science courses. The current version is the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition.
AMA is a numbered system: sources are cited with superscript numbers in the text and listed in numerical order at the end. This page covers the in-text rules, author names and reference formats for the source types you will use most.
How AMA Citation Works in Brief
Cite each source with a superscript Arabic numeral in the order it first appears. Reuse the same number every time you cite that source again. List the sources under "References" in numerical order, not alphabetically.
Author names use surname and initials with no full stops. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first three followed by "et al".
In-Text Citations
Place the superscript number immediately after the fact or name it supports. Superscripts go outside full stops and commas, and inside colons and semicolons.
Hand hygiene compliance improved after the audit.1
Several trials reported shorter stays,2,3 though one did not.4
Three reviews reached the same conclusion5-7: early mobilization reduces complications.
Okafor et al8 found a similar effect in older adults.
- Separate several citations with commas and no spaces: 2,3,9.
- Use a hyphen for a run of three or more consecutive numbers: 5-7.
- When naming authors in the sentence, give one surname, two surnames joined by "and", or the first surname and "et al" (no full stop) for three or more.
- To cite a specific page, put it in parentheses within the superscript, for example 3(p45).
Author Name Rules
| Situation | AMA format |
|---|---|
| One author | Hale RM. |
| Two to six authors | List all, separated by commas: Hale RM, Iqbal S, Duarte L. |
| Seven or more authors | First three, then et al: Hale RM, Iqbal S, Duarte L, et al. |
| Organization as author | Use the full name: World Health Organization. |
| No author | Begin with the title |
Initials have no full stops and no spaces between them. Surnames come first, and there is no "and" before the final author.
Journal Articles
Journal names are abbreviated using the standard abbreviations from the National Library of Medicine catalog, and italicized. Article titles are in sentence case.
Format: Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue):pages. doi:xx.xxxx
Example: Hale RM, Iqbal S, Duarte L. Structured handover and missed observations on surgical wards. J Clin Nurs. 2021;30(5):612-620. doi:10.1000/xyz123
- Give full page ranges (612-620, not 612-20).
- Write the DOI with the lowercase prefix "doi:" and no full stop after it.
- If there is no DOI, give the URL and the date you accessed it.
Books and Chapters
Book titles are italicized and in title case. The 11th edition omits the publisher's location.
Book: Marsh P. Principles of Clinical Pharmacology. 3rd ed. Northgate Medical; 2020.
Chapter in an edited book: Iqbal S. Pain assessment in older adults. In: Brennan T, Ford L, eds. Gerontological Nursing. 2nd ed. Harbor Academic; 2019:141-160.
Include the edition only when it is not the first. Use "ed" for one editor and "eds" for two or more.
Websites and Online Documents
Website references include the author (or organization), the title of the page, the name of the website, the publication or update date, the date you accessed it and the URL.
Format: Author or Organization. Title of page. Name of website. Published Month Day, Year. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
Example: National Health Data Office. Hospital readmissions explained. National Health Data Office website. Published May 4, 2023. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.example.org/readmissions
If the page has no date, give the access date only. Do not put a full stop after the URL.
A Short Sample Reference List
Here is how a numbered list looks when the sources above are cited in this order in a paper.
References 1. Hale RM, Iqbal S, Duarte L. Structured handover and missed observations on surgical wards. J Clin Nurs. 2021;30(5):612-620. doi:10.1000/xyz123 2. Marsh P. Principles of Clinical Pharmacology. 3rd ed. Northgate Medical; 2020. 3. National Health Data Office. Hospital readmissions explained. National Health Data Office website. Published May 4, 2023. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.example.org/readmissions
In a real paper, journal and book titles appear in italics. Each entry starts on a new line with its number, and the list continues in the order sources are first cited.
AMA Compared with Vancouver
AMA and Vancouver are both numbered systems used in medicine, so they are easy to confuse. The differences are in the details.
| Feature | AMA 11th edition | Vancouver (common university form) |
|---|---|---|
| In-text numbers | Superscript | Often in square brackets or round brackets, sometimes superscript |
| Journal name | Abbreviated and italicized | Abbreviated, not italicized |
| Page ranges | Full: 612-620 | Often shortened: 612-20 |
| Online sources | Accessed date and URL | [cited date] and "Available from:" URL |
Your course may use its own variant of either style. When your handbook and a general guide disagree, follow the handbook.
Common AMA Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct form |
|---|---|
| Alphabetical reference list | Number in order of first citation |
| A new number for a repeated source | Reuse the original number |
| Initials with full stops: Hale, R. M. | Hale RM |
| Full journal name | NLM abbreviation, italicized |
| Superscript inside the full stop | Superscript after the full stop |
| Publisher location included | Publisher name only |
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Frequently Asked Questions
The AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, published in 2020.
No. References are numbered and listed in the order they are first cited in the text.
List all authors if there are six or fewer. If there are seven or more, list the first three followed by "et al".
Outside full stops and commas, inside colons and semicolons.
Yes. Use the abbreviated journal name, in italics.
Use the lowercase prefix "doi:" followed by the DOI, with no full stop at the end.
No. The 11th edition uses the publisher's name only.
Medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy and other health sciences, along with many medical journals.