AMA style uses superscript numbers in the text and a numbered reference list instead of author-date citations. It is common in medicine and allied health, and some nursing programs and journals require it. Here is how it works, with examples.
AMA style comes from the AMA Manual of Style, now in its 11th edition (2020). It is the house style of the JAMA Network journals and is widely used in medical, pharmacy and other health-science writing. Most nursing programs still use APA 7, but some (often programs that sit inside a medical or allied-health school, or coursework that mirrors medical journals) ask for AMA. If your syllabus does not say, ask your instructor rather than guess. A close cousin, Vancouver style, also uses numbered citations.
About the examples. Examples on this page are illustrative. Fictional authors, journals and placeholder DOIs (10.xxxx/xxxxx) are used, alongside a few well-known real references. Always copy details from your own sources, and follow your program's style requirements.
Sources are numbered in the order they first appear in your paper. The number is a superscript placed after the idea it supports. A source keeps its original number every time you cite it again.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| Number goes after a period or comma | Bedside handoff can improve patient involvement.1 |
| Number goes before a colon or semicolon | Three approaches were compared2: bedside, verbal and written. |
| Two sources in a row use a comma, no space | ...reduced readmissions.3,4 |
| Three or more in a row use a hyphen | ...several trials.5-7 |
| Separate groups use commas | ...consistent findings.1,3,5-7 |
| Naming the author in a sentence | Nguyen et al1 reported that... (no period after "al") |
The ProNursingWriters team can format your paper and references to the style your program specifies.
An article you found through CINAHL or PubMed is cited exactly the same way. The journal is the source, not the database. Copy the abbreviation, volume and page numbers from the article itself.
The edition is included only when it is not the first. The chapter's page range follows the year after a colon.
For web pages, the access date is part of the entry. If you know the date a page was published or last updated, include it before the access date. Guidelines are handled like reports when they are stand-alone documents, and like journal articles when they appear in a journal. The guideline citation guide has more, and the website and government report guides cover related cases.
| Feature | AMA 11 | APA 7 |
|---|---|---|
| In-text | Superscript number | (Author, Year) |
| List order | Order of first citation | Alphabetical |
| Author names | Nguyen TH | Nguyen, T. H. |
| Long author lists | More than 6: first 3, then et al | Up to 20 listed |
| Journal name | Abbreviated, italic | Full name, italic |
| DOI | doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx | https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx |
Cite every source you use, and follow your institution's academic-integrity policy. For the official manual and journal-name lookups, use the National Library of Medicine site.
Some do, especially those close to medical or allied-health schools, but APA is more common in nursing. Your syllabus or program handbook decides.
AMA numbers are usually superscripts in the text, with the matching list at the end. Use footnotes only if your instructor asks.
Use the same number. If you need specific pages, add them to the reference number in the text according to your instructor's preference.
Look up the journal in the NLM Catalog, or copy the abbreviation from the article's own citation on the publisher or PubMed page.