The AMA Manual of Style is the style guide of the American Medical Association. It provides a set of standards for formatting papers and citations. It is written by the editors of JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and is most recently published by Oxford University Press. It is widely used by medical, nursing, and other health care journals.
More information about AMA style can be found on its website.
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Template: AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in sentence case. Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case. Year;volume(Issue#):PP-PP. doi: ##
Journal article (list all authors, unless there are more than 6): Charon R, Irvine C, Oforlea AN, Colón ER, Smalletz C, Spiegel M. Racial justice in medicine: narrative practices toward equity. Narrative. 2021;29(2):160-177. doi:10.1353/nar.2021.0008
Journal article (more than 6 authors): Figueroa CA, Manalo-Pedro E, Pola S, et al. The stories about racism and health: the development of a framework for racism narratives in medical literature using a computational grounded theory approach. Int J Equity Health. 2023;22(1):265. doi:10.1186/s12939-023-02077-0
Abbreviate and italicize names of journals according to the listing in the National Library of Medicine database.
Template (whole book): AuthorLastName FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Book Title in Title Case. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher's name; copyright year.
Template (chapter in a book): AuthorLastName FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Chapter title in sentence case. In: Author/EditorLastName FirstInitialMiddleInitial, ed(s). Book Title in Title Case. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year.
Whole book: Rose PR. Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Context, Controversies, and Solutions. Second edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
Book chapter: deShazo RD, Smith R, Baldwin L. Black physicians and the struggle for civil rights: lessons from the Mississippi experience, part I: the forces for and against change. In: deShazo RD, (ed). The Racial Divide in American Medicine: Black Physicians and the Struggle for Justice in Health Care. University Press of Mississippi; 2018.
Website Template: AuthorLastName FirstInitialMiddleInitial (if available). Article title in sentence case. Name of Website in Title Case. Published/updated date (if available). Accessed date. URL
Government Report Template: AuthorLastName FirstInitialMiddleInitial (if available) OR Name of governmental division. Report/bulletin title. Date of publication/update. Publication information. Online accessed date (if applicable). URL (if applicable).
Government reports should be cited in journal style (for articles) or book style (for monographs). Include access date and URL if applicable.
Website example: Telehealth: technology meets health care. Mayo Clinic. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/telehealth/art-20044878
Government report example: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What can be treated through telehealth? Updated August 16, 2024. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://telehealth.hhs.gov/patients/what-can-be-treated-through-telehealth
Sources are cited in text using superscript numerals. The numbers should be outside periods and commas, but inside colons and semicolons. Multiple sources can be cited together. If sequential, they should be indicated with a hyphen. If nonsequential, a comma. Do not include a space between numbers.
Example: Singh et al reported1-3,5
The references section of the paper is titled References. Unlike many style guides, references should be listed in numerical order (the order they are cited in the paper) as opposed to alphabetically. Each item should be single-spaced.