This guide is published by EdCitation, and it gives EdCitation's view of when to use Vancouver style and when another style serves a health or science paper better. The view is ours. The facts under it were read on 23 September 2026 at the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) and seven universities' own pages.
Our case, briefly: a number sits in a sentence more quietly than a row of names, so Vancouver suits writing in which one claim rests on several studies. Where the reader needs to see who or when, an author-date style does better. The style your journal or course names beats every argument here. The rules are in the Vancouver referencing guide.
What is Vancouver style, and who is it written for?
Vancouver is the numbered reference style of the medical journals that follow the ICMJE Recommendations, set out as the NLM's samples show. Both documents were written for authors submitting to journals, not for students.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (2026b) writes its Recommendations, updated in January 2026, chiefly for authors submitting to its member journals. Other journals adopt them voluntarily, and the committee has "no authority to monitor or enforce it". Authors are told to follow each journal's instructions too.
The NLM's samples page, last reviewed on 2 June 2026, is addressed to authors of journal articles. It points to the ICMJE Recommendations and bases its format on a NISO standard as the NLM adapted it, with more in its manual, Citing Medicine (National Library of Medicine, 2026).
How many journals follow it?
Nobody can say. The ICMJE's FAQ says a large number do, with no figure (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, n.d.). In April 2025 the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (2025) stopped keeping its list of journals claiming to follow the Recommendations: many did not, it could not verify the list, and predatory publishing was growing. The journal's own instructions for authors are the word that counts.
Who uses Vancouver style?
Medical and biomedical journals, and the university schools of medicine, pharmacy and some health sciences that set it for coursework. Four pages read today:
- The University of Liverpool (2026) says its School of Medicine uses Vancouver, with the NLM's Citing Medicine as the authoritative version.
- The University of Portsmouth (n.d.) uses it in Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and in Radiography, in a guide modelled on Citing Medicine.
- The University of Otago (2026) says its School of Pharmacy uses it.
- James Cook University (2026b) says its schools of Medicine and Dentistry and of Pharmacy and Molecular Sciences use AMA, one of what it calls Vancouver's two major versions; some subjects may ask for Citing Medicine.
Where health subjects set something else
The style follows the school, not the field. The University of Leeds (n.d.) has each school choose one style and marks work against it: Medicine may use Leeds Harvard or Vancouver, while Dentistry and Healthcare use Leeds Harvard. The University of Staffordshire (2026) says its nursing students use Cite Them Right Harvard, and Victoria University Library (2026) says its Bachelor of Nursing requires APA 7th edition.
So dentistry is AMA at James Cook and Harvard at Leeds. The subject tells you what is likely; the course tells you what is right.
When should I use Vancouver style?
Use Vancouver style when the journal or course names it and, in our view, for clinical and biomedical writing in which a point often rests on several sources.
- A medical or biomedical journal manuscript whose instructions name Vancouver or the ICMJE Recommendations. Where the journal's examples differ from the NLM's, follow the journal.
- Medicine, pharmacy or biomedical coursework where the school sets it, as Liverpool, Portsmouth and Otago do.
- A discussion that stacks evidence. When one sentence rests on five trials, "(3-7)" keeps it readable where five surnames and years fill a line, and numbering in order of first mention (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, 2026a) makes the list follow the argument.
When is another style the better choice?
When the reader needs a name or a year in the sentence, or the course sets something else. Each is our view, with its reason.
Nursing and allied health courses that set APA
Use APA 7. Evidence-based nursing essays turn on how recent each study is, and APA puts the year in every citation. See nursing APA citations and when to use APA style.
UK health courses that set Harvard
Use your own university's Harvard, as Staffordshire's nursing students and Leeds's School of Healthcare do. Harvard has no single owner, so copy your library's version: see the Harvard referencing guide and when to use Harvard referencing.
A health literature review that turns on dates
Use APA or Harvard if the choice is yours. A review of how practice changed asks the reader to weigh a 2005 trial against a 2024 one, and author-date shows that without a trip to the list. If Vancouver is set, put the year in the sentence: "a trial published in 2019 (8) reported".
Engineering and computing
Use IEEE where the department sets it. Both styles number sources in order of first citation, but IEEE uses square brackets, initials before the surname and italic journal titles, and Vancouver round brackets or superscript, the surname first and no italics (IEEE referencing guide, when to use IEEE style).
A course or journal that names another style
Then that style is right, even for a medical paper: AMA for medicine at James Cook, or Leeds Harvard where Leeds Medicine chooses it.
What does a numbered style cost?
A numbered style saves room in the sentence and charges for it elsewhere.
- The reader cannot see who or when. "(4)" hides the author, the year and the kind of study, so a marker must turn to the list to see whether a claim rests on an old case series or a recent trial.
- Editing means renumbering. The University of Portsmouth (n.d.) warns that a reference inserted into the text means renumbering every one after it. Let a reference manager keep the numbers; Liverpool notes that EndNote Desktop has a Citing Medicine output style.
- Citation numbers sit beside clinical numbers. Portsmouth advises keeping citation numbers away from other figures, and James Cook University (2026c) warns that a superscript straight after a number or an abbreviated unit can be read as an exponent. In our view, round brackets reduce that risk where a course allows them.
Why do universities' Vancouver guides differ from the NLM's?
Because "Vancouver" names a family of styles, not one text. James Cook University (2026b) calls AMA and Citing Medicine the two major versions, with minor variations. Minor to a librarian can still cost marks:
| Element | NLM samples, with the ICMJE | James Cook's AMA version |
|---|---|---|
| Number in the text | Arabic numerals in round brackets | Superscript, outside full stops and commas, inside colons and semicolons |
| More than six authors | The first six, then et al. | The first three, then et al. |
| Journal title | Abbreviated, not italic | Abbreviated, in italics |
| Page range | Shortened: 284-7 | In full: 107-112 |
| After the DOI | A full stop | No full stop |
The first column comes from National Library of Medicine (2026) and the ICMJE's references section; the second from James Cook's AMA pages (2026a, 2026c, 2026d). Portsmouth, and James Cook's own Citing Medicine page, allow brackets or superscript if one form is kept throughout.
Our view: the course's own guide governs, because the marker checks the handbook's version. Where nothing names one, use the NLM's, which the ICMJE points authors to. The Vancouver referencing guide records departures at Imperial College London and the University of Queensland.
Which style suits which situation?
Our summary of the sections above. A style named by the journal or course overrides every row.
| Situation | Style that suits it | Why, in short | Does EdCitation build it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal following the ICMJE Recommendations | Vancouver, in the journal's form | Its instructions govern | Yes, the NLM's version |
| Medicine or pharmacy coursework set in Vancouver | The school's Vancouver | What the marker checks | Yes; local changes by hand |
| Medicine or dentistry set in AMA | AMA | Superscript, three authors, italics | Not as its own style |
| Nursing degree requiring APA 7 | APA 7 | The year in the sentence | Yes |
| UK nursing or healthcare module set in Harvard | The university's Harvard | Set by the school | Yes, Cite Them Right |
| Health literature review, no style named | APA 7 or Harvard | Each study's year in the text | Yes, both |
| Engineering or computing report | IEEE, where set | The IEEE's numbered style | Yes |
How do I decide whether to use Vancouver style?
Stop at the first step that gives an answer.
- Read the brief, the rubric and the module handbook. A named style and version is the answer. Check your paper reads a brief into a checklist, style included.
- Writing for a journal? Its instructions for authors decide; the ICMJE keeps no list to check against.
- Find your school's page, such as Leeds's table or Liverpool's guide.
- Told only "Vancouver"? Ask which: Citing Medicine, AMA or the university's own, and copy that guide's examples.
- Nothing written down? Ask the module leader or supervisor.
- Still your choice? A year the reader needs points to APA or Harvard; many sources per claim point to Vancouver.
- Choosing Vancouver? Before the first citation, decide how the numbers will be kept, and pick brackets or superscript once.
- Keep one style and one form to the last entry.
How does EdCitation help with a Vancouver reference list?
Cite a source is the best tool for building a Vancouver reference, because it starts where the ICMJE tells authors to start. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (2026a) asks authors to verify references against PubMed or the original sources, and to cite no retracted article except to discuss the retraction. Cite a source takes each reference from the publisher's record, not from what someone typed, and screens every source for retraction. Give it a DOI, a PubMed ID, an ISBN or a title; a PubMed ID goes straight in. It sets the entry in Vancouver, APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard or IEEE, free with no account. A reference is looked up, never written.
Since 23 September 2026 it writes Vancouver as the NLM's samples and Citing Medicine do: page ranges shortened and joined by a hyphen (54-8), a full stop after the DOI, and a journal article dated by its issue. The pattern is on the Vancouver style page.
The page shows one source at a time, with a style menu. A free account keeps a list in the dashboard that, in Vancouver, numbers entries in the order you add them, so add sources in the order the paper first cites them. It downloads as BibTeX, for LaTeX and Overleaf, or as RIS, for Zotero, EndNote and Mendeley, where a reference manager can keep the numbers.
Verify references, also free, checks the finished list: each reference comes back verified, doubtful (shown as "check this") or not found, retracted papers are flagged, and "could not check" is never shown as "not found". With the whole paper uploaded, every number in the text is matched to its entry and every entry back to the text.
What it does not do: it builds one Vancouver, the NLM's, so AMA or a university's variant needs its differences made by hand. It does not number the citations in your document as you write, judge whether a source supports its sentence, or choose your style. EdCitation never writes any part of a paper.
Quick questions
Is Vancouver style only used in medicine?
No. The University of Portsmouth uses Vancouver style in pharmacy, biomedical sciences and radiography, and the University of Otago uses it in pharmacy.
Do nursing students use Vancouver style?
Not at the nursing schools read for this guide: Victoria University requires APA 7 for its Bachelor of Nursing, and nursing students at the University of Staffordshire use Cite Them Right Harvard. The course handbook decides.
Is AMA style the same as Vancouver?
James Cook University's library counts AMA as one version of Vancouver. AMA uses superscript numbers, three authors before et al. when there are more than six, italic journal titles and full page ranges.
Does EdCitation build AMA style?
No. EdCitation's Cite a source builds the NLM's Vancouver, so AMA or a university's variant needs its differences made by hand.
References
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. (n.d.). ICMJE Recommendations ("The Uniform Requirements"). https://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/icmje-recommendations/
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. (2025, April). ICMJE ceases list of journals claiming to follow its recommendations. https://www.icmje.org/news-and-editorials/updated_recommendations_apr2025.html
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. (2026a). Preparing a manuscript for submission to a medical journal. ICMJE Recommendations. https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/manuscript-preparation/preparing-for-submission.html
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. (2026b). Who should use the recommendations? ICMJE Recommendations. https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/about-the-recommendations/who-should-use-the-recommendations.html
- James Cook University. (2026a, September 21). Authors: Numbers, rules and formatting. AMA 11th referencing guide. https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/ama/authors
- James Cook University. (2026b, September 21). Citing Medicine (Vancouver). Referencing. https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/referencing/other-styles/vancouver
- James Cook University. (2026c, September 21). In-text citations. AMA 11th referencing guide. https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/ama/in-text-citations
- James Cook University. (2026d, September 21). Journal article. AMA 11th referencing guide. https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/ama/journal-article
- National Library of Medicine. (2026). Samples of formatted references for authors of journal articles. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
- University of Leeds. (n.d.). Find your school's referencing style. Library. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/49/find-your-schools-referencing-style
- University of Liverpool. (2026, September 22). Vancouver. Referencing. https://libguides.liverpool.ac.uk/referencing/vancouver
- University of Otago. (2026, July 15). Referencing & writing. Pharmaceutical Sciences. https://otago.libguides.com/c.php?g=948113&p=6872531
- University of Portsmouth. (n.d.). Vancouver referencing. Library. https://library.port.ac.uk/using-resources/referencing/vancouver
- University of Staffordshire. (2026, September 11). Referencing guidance. Nursing. https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/c.php?g=694181&p=4980588
- Victoria University Library. (2026, August 17). Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery: Referencing. https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/c.php?g=933246&p=6746885