Vancouver referencing is a numbered citation style used widely in medicine, nursing and the health sciences. Each source gets a number the first time you cite it, and the reference list appears in that numerical order.
The style rests on the ICMJE Recommendations and the US National Library of Medicine's guide, Citing Medicine. Universities and journals publish their own variants, so always check whether yours uses superscript or bracketed numbers and how many authors to list. Names and titles in the examples are invented for illustration.
Vancouver in Four Rules
- Number sources in order of first citation and reuse a number for repeat citations.
- Show citations as superscript numbers or numbers in brackets, as your guide specifies.
- List references numerically, with surname first and initials without full stops: Patel JK.
- Abbreviate journal titles using the NLM Catalog abbreviations, without full stops.
In-Text Citations
Place the number right after the fact or idea it supports. Whether it sits before or after punctuation, and whether it is superscript or bracketed, depends on your institution or journal.
Bracketed: Falls are a leading cause of injury in older inpatients (1). Several trials report benefits from structured exercise (2,3), although results vary by setting (4-6).
Superscript: Falls are a leading cause of injury in older inpatients.1 Several trials report benefits from structured exercise.2,3
- Separate non-consecutive numbers with commas: (2,5,9).
- Join a run of three or more with a hyphen: (4-6).
- Author names may appear in the sentence, still followed by the number: Mensah and Ito (7) found...
Reference List Rules
- Title the list "References" and order it by number.
- Write surname then initials with no full stops or spaces between initials: Okafor CN.
- Many university guides and journals list up to six authors, then add "et al."; some set a different number, so check yours.
- Use sentence case for article and book titles, and no italics.
- Abbreviate journal titles as listed in the NLM Catalog, such as BMJ, N Engl J Med or J Adv Nurs.
- Give the year, volume, issue and pages in the form 2023;45(2):101-9.
Journal Articles
Up to six authors: 1. Okafor CN, Lindqvist S, Brandt L. Nurse-led discharge education and readmission in heart failure: a cohort study. J Adv Nurs. 2023;79(4):1402-13.
Seven or more authors: 2. Mensah DA, Ito K, Reyes C, Patel JK, Morgan EJ, Haddad R, et al. Early mobilization after hip fracture surgery: a randomized trial. Age Aging. 2022;51(9):afac180.
With a DOI: 3. Morgan EJ. Moral distress in critical care nursing. Nurs Ethics. 2024;31(2):210-24. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxxxx
Page ranges are usually shortened, so 1402-1413 becomes 1402-13. Article numbers, such as afac180, replace page ranges in online-only journals.
Books and Chapters
Book: 4. Brandt L. Foundations of evidence-based nursing. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Example Press; 2021.
Edited book: 5. Ito K, Reyes C, editors. Community health nursing in practice. London: Example Press; 2020.
Chapter: 6. Haddad R. Medication safety. In: Ito K, Reyes C, editors. Community health nursing in practice. London: Example Press; 2020. p. 145-70.
Include the place of publication and publisher, separated by a colon, then a semicolon and the year. Give the edition only from the second onwards.
Web Pages, Reports and Guidelines
Web page: 7. Example Health Agency. Preventing pressure ulcers [Internet]. London: Example Health Agency; 2024 [cited 2026 Oct 2]. Available from: https://www.example.org/pressure-ulcers
Report: 8. Example Institute. Nursing workforce report 2025. Geneva: Example Institute; 2025.
Clinical guideline: 9. Example Guideline Group. Management of type 2 diabetes in adults [Internet]. Manchester: Example Guideline Group; 2023 [updated 2025 Mar; cited 2026 Oct 2]. Available from: https://www.example.org/diabetes
For online sources, add [Internet] after the title, the date you cited it in square brackets and "Available from:" before the URL.
Theses and Dissertations
10. Lindqvist S. Patient education in early heart failure [dissertation]. Bristol (UK): University of Bristol; 2020.
11. Okafor C. Peer mentoring and retention of newly qualified nurses [master's thesis]. Glasgow (UK): University of Glasgow; 2023.
Finding Journal Abbreviations
| Full title | NLM abbreviation |
|---|---|
| The New England Journal of Medicine | N Engl J Med |
| Journal of Advanced Nursing | J Adv Nurs |
| International Journal of Nursing Studies | Int J Nurs Stud |
| Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | Cochrane Database Syst Rev |
Search the NLM Catalog for the official abbreviation of any indexed journal. Titles of one word, such as Lancet or BMJ, are not abbreviated.
Common Vancouver Errors
| Error | Correct approach |
|---|---|
| Alphabetical reference list | Order by first citation |
| A new number for a repeated source | Reuse the original number |
| Full stops in initials: Patel J.K. | No full stops: Patel JK |
| Full journal names | NLM abbreviations |
| Italicized titles | No italics in Vancouver references |
| Mixing bracket and superscript styles | Use one format throughout, as your guide specifies |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A numbered citation style based on the ICMJE Recommendations and the NLM's Citing Medicine, widely used in medicine, nursing and health sciences.
No. References appear in the order they are first cited, so the first source is number 1.
Either, depending on your university or journal. Pick the one your guide specifies and use it consistently.
Many guides list the first six, then add et al. Some journals and universities set a different number, so check your instructions.
Use the abbreviation listed in the NLM Catalog, without full stops, such as J Adv Nurs.
No. Vancouver references use plain text for article, book and journal titles.
No. Both are numbered medical styles, but they differ in punctuation, italics and some author rules. Use the one your program or journal requires.