Vancouver is a numbered citation style used across biomedical and health-science writing. It is built on the ICMJE recommendations and the National Library of Medicine's Citing Medicine. This guide covers the core rules, examples, and how it differs from AMA.
Vancouver style takes its name from a 1978 meeting of medical journal editors in that city, which grew into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE Recommendations describe a reference format that many biomedical journals follow, and the National Library of Medicine documents the detailed formatting in Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. It is used in medical, public health and some nursing programs, particularly those outside the United States.
Vancouver has variants. Universities, departments and journals each publish their own version. Details such as brackets versus superscripts, how many authors to list, and whether to include DOIs differ. Treat this page as the general pattern, then check your program's own Vancouver guide before you finalize.
A note on the samples. Most entries below are invented for teaching, with made-up names, journals and dummy DOIs; two are genuine published works. Always take the details from the source in front of you.
Each source gets a number the first time you cite it, in order of appearance. Reuse the same number when you cite it again. Depending on your program, numbers appear in round brackets (1), square brackets [1], or as superscripts. Choose the form your program uses and keep it consistent.
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
| Single source | Early mobility protocols shortened length of stay (1). |
| Two sources | ...reduced readmissions (2,3). |
| Run of sources | ...several trials (4-6). |
| Author named in the sentence | Mwangi and Fraser (1) found that... |
The ProNursingWriters team can format your reference list to your program's requirements.
| Element | General Vancouver rule |
|---|---|
| Order | Numbered in order of first citation, not alphabetical |
| Authors | Surname followed by initials, no periods or spaces in initials: Mwangi JK, Fraser LA |
| Many authors | ICMJE and NLM examples list up to 6 authors, then "et al." Some institutions use a shorter cut-off, so check yours |
| Article title | Sentence case, not italic, ends with a period |
| Journal name | Abbreviated as in the NLM Catalog, not italic in most versions |
| Date and pages | Year;Volume(Issue):Pages. Many versions shorten the second page number (210-8) |
| Books | Place: Publisher; Year. Edition after the title if not the first |
| Web sources | [Internet], then the date you accessed it in "[cited Year Mon Day]", then "Available from: URL" |
Whether a DOI is expected, and whether it is written "doi:10..." or "doi: 10...", is one of those points that differs by institution. An article found through CINAHL or PubMed is cited as the journal article; do not cite the database.
Book and chapter titles use sentence case in NLM style and are not italicized in most Vancouver versions. The place of publication is included, unlike in APA 7.
For a guideline, the organization is the author when no individuals are credited. Details are in the guideline citation guide. For other online material see the website guide, and for official publications the government report guide.
NLM style marks the type of work in square brackets after the title, for example [dissertation] or [master's thesis]. If you retrieved it online, add "Available from:" and the URL, as you would for a web page. See the dissertation guide for how other styles handle this.
| Feature | Vancouver | AMA 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers in text | Brackets, parentheses or superscript, by institution | Superscript |
| Long author lists | Commonly 6, then et al. | Over 6 authors: list 3, add et al |
| Journal names | Abbreviated, usually not italic | Abbreviated, italic |
| Publisher place | Included | Not included |
| Web sources | [Internet] and [cited date] | Accessed date and URL |
Follow your institution's academic-integrity policy and cite every source. The National Library of Medicine site is the place to find journal abbreviations and the official guidance.
They are close cousins, since both use numbered citations and abbreviated journal names, but the details differ. Do not mix them in one paper.
ICMJE and NLM examples list up to six, then add "et al." Some universities use a smaller number. Use your program's rule.
Many versions accept or encourage them for journal articles. Check your program's guide.
Most nursing programs use APA. Vancouver appears in some public-health, medical and international programs. Your syllabus is the authority.