Vancouver citation style is a numbered system used across medicine, nursing and the health sciences. Each source gets a number in the order you first cite it, and the reference list at the end follows that same numerical order.
This guide explains the in-text rules, how to build each reference, and gives examples for the source types health students cite most. Vancouver is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the US National Library of Medicine's Citing Medicine; universities and journals often add their own small variations.
How Vancouver Citation Works
In the text, cite a source with a number, either in superscript or in brackets, depending on your institution: "Hand hygiene reduces infection rates.1" or "...rates (1)." Reuse the same number every time you cite that source again.
In the reference list, sources appear in numerical order: 1. Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue):pages.
Who Uses Vancouver Style
Vancouver is the standard in many medical and biomedical journals and is widely used in medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy and allied health courses, especially in the UK, Europe and Australia.
Some US medical journals use AMA style instead, which is also numbered but differs in punctuation and formatting. If your course says "numbered" or "Vancouver", check its own guide for the exact version.
Vancouver in-Text Citations
- Order of first appearance: the first source you cite is 1, the next new source is 2, and so on.
- Reuse numbers: a source keeps its original number every time it is cited.
- Format: superscript numbers or numbers in round or square brackets, as your institution prefers. Use one format consistently.
- Several sources: separate with commas, and use a hyphen for a continuous range: (1,3,5) or (2-5).
- Author named: you can name the author in the sentence, but still add the number: "Mensah (4) found..."
Pressure injuries remain common in intensive care (1,2). Regular repositioning reduces risk (3), although adherence is often poor (2,4-6). Mensah and colleagues (7) found that electronic reminders improved adherence.
Placement of the number relative to punctuation varies between institutions. Follow your guide and stay consistent.
Reference List Rules
- Title the list "References" and number entries in citation order, not alphabetically.
- Authors: surname followed by initials with no full stops or spaces, such as Mensah KA.
- List up to six authors; for more than six, list the first six followed by "et al.".
- Article titles in sentence case, with no quotation marks.
- Journal titles abbreviated using the NLM style, without italics, such as BMJ or J Adv Nurs.
- Minimal punctuation: no italics, no underlining, and a semicolon between year and volume.
- Page ranges are often shortened, such as 123-9 for pages 123 to 129.
Citing Journal Articles
Format: Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal. Year;Volume(Issue):pages.
One author: 1. Mensah KA. Electronic reminders and repositioning adherence in intensive care. J Clin Nurs. 2022;31(4):512-20.
Two to six authors: 2. Okafor G, Lindqvist A, Tan M. Pressure injury prevention in older inpatients: a cluster trial. Int J Nurs Stud. 2021;118:103-12.
More than six authors: 3. Reyes H, Patel R, Moreau P, Chen L, Owusu K, Garcia S, et al. Nurse staffing and patient outcomes in 40 hospitals. BMJ Open. 2023;13(2):e061234.
The examples are illustrative. Add a DOI at the end, written as doi: followed by the identifier, if your guide asks for one; many now do.
Online and Ahead of Print
For an article published online before it appears in an issue, give the online date and add [Epub ahead of print] where the issue details would go, followed by the DOI.
Citing Books and Chapters
Format: Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.
Book: 4. Clarke J. Research methods for health professionals. 3rd ed. London: Routledge; 2019.
Edited book: 5. Ahmed S, editor. Contemporary community nursing. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2020.
Chapter in an edited book: 6. Brown K. Wound assessment. In: Ahmed S, editor. Contemporary community nursing. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2020. p. 45-67.
Leave out the edition for a first edition. Book titles use sentence case and are not italicized in most Vancouver versions.
Citing Websites and Online Documents
Format: Author or Organization. Title [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [updated Year Mon Day; cited Year Mon Day]. Available from: URL
Webpage: 7. National Wound Care Council. Pressure injury prevention [Internet]. London: NWCC; 2023 [updated 2024 Jan 10; cited 2024 Mar 2]. Available from: https://www.example.org/pressure-injury
Report: 8. Ministry of Health. Annual nursing workforce report 2022 [Internet]. Nairobi: Ministry of Health; 2022 [cited 2024 Feb 14]. Available from: https://www.example.gov/workforce
The organization names in these examples are fictional. "Cited" is the date you accessed the page; "updated" is the last-updated date shown on the page, if any.
Other Common Sources
| Source | Key elements |
|---|---|
| Thesis | Author. Title [dissertation]. Place: University; Year. |
| Conference paper | Author. Title. In: Editor, editor. Proceedings title; Date; Place. Place: Publisher; Year. p. pages. |
| Government report | Agency as author, title, report number if any, place, publisher, year |
| Clinical guideline online | Organization. Title [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [cited date]. Available from: URL |
Building a Reference Step by Step
Converting article details into a Vancouver reference is mechanical once you follow a fixed order.
Details on the article page: Authors Grace Okafor, Anna Lindqvist and Mei Tan. Title: "Pressure Injury Prevention in Older Inpatients: A Cluster Trial". Journal: International Journal of Nursing Studies, volume 118, 2021, pages 103 to 112.
Step 1, authors: Okafor G, Lindqvist A, Tan M.
Step 2, title in sentence case: Pressure injury prevention in older inpatients: a cluster trial.
Step 3, abbreviated journal: Int J Nurs Stud.
Step 4, year, volume, pages: 2021;118:103-12.
Notice the punctuation: a full stop after the authors, the title and the journal; a semicolon between year and volume; a colon before the pages. There are no spaces around the semicolon and colon in most versions.
Citing Tables and Figures You Reproduce
If you reproduce or adapt a table or figure from a source, cite it with its reference number in the caption or note, for example "Adapted from Mensah (1)". Check whether your assignment or journal needs permission statements for published figures.
Managing Numbering as You Write
Numbering is the hardest part of Vancouver by hand. If you add a new source early in the paper, every later number shifts.
- Use a reference manager that renumbers automatically as you edit.
- If working by hand, use author-year placeholders while drafting and convert to numbers at the end.
- After converting, check that the first citation of each source appears in the right order.
- Make sure no number is skipped or duplicated in the list.
Vancouver Compared with APA
| Vancouver | APA 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| In text | Number | (Author, Year) |
| List order | Citation order | Alphabetical |
| Author initials | Mensah KA | Mensah, K. A. |
| Journal title | Abbreviated, plain | Full, italic |
| Year position | After the journal | After the authors |
Common Vancouver Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct practice |
|---|---|
| Alphabetical reference list | Number in order of first citation |
| A new number for a repeated source | Reuse the original number |
| Full stops in initials: Mensah, K.A. | Mensah KA |
| Full journal names in italics | NLM abbreviations, no italics |
| Mixing superscript and brackets | Choose one format and use it throughout |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A numbered citation style used in medicine and health sciences. Sources are numbered in the order they are first cited, and the reference list follows that order.
Either, depending on your institution or journal. Choose the format your guide specifies and use it consistently.
The common rule is up to six. For more than six, list the first six followed by et al. Some guides differ, so check yours.
Yes. A source keeps its original number every time you cite it.
Yes, using the NLM abbreviations, without italics, such as J Adv Nurs or BMJ.
Author or organization, title, [Internet], place and publisher, year, the updated and cited dates in square brackets, then Available from: and the URL.
No. Both are numbered, but they differ in punctuation, italics and some author rules. Use the one your course or journal names.
Many current guides recommend adding the DOI at the end of journal references. Check your institution's version.
The NLM Catalog lists the official abbreviation for each journal indexed in MEDLINE. PubMed records also show the abbreviated journal title for each article.