Saint Mary's University Writing Center

AMA for Nurse Anesthesia

The Nurse Anesthesia Program at Saint Mary's University Twin Cities uses the American Medical Association Manual of Style (9th ed. or 10th ed.). Students are required to purchase and learn to use the manual. The information below provides an introduction to the manual and other research resources.

Click on the image to open the booklet developed by the Twin Cities Writing Center to assist
nurse anesthesia students with the American Medical Association Manual of Style.

Note: The downloadable booklet above is based on the AMA manual.
Always check with your instructor or advisor for required departures from AMA guidelines.

MICROSOFT WORD for AMA WRITING: [ Version 2007 ] [ Version 2003 ]

Twin Cities Campus NA Program

1st-year Model Paper

Model paper for 1st-year students that can be downloaded, saved, and used as a template.

10th ed. Quick Reference
Citation Format

McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University (Birmingham, AL). Updated to reflect AMA 10th edition

AANA Author Guidelines

Links to AANA's guidelines for submitting and formatting manuscripts for publication in the journal.

Official AMA Style Site

Information from the AMA about AMA style, including corrections to the 10th ed. (see "Errata") manual and an AMA faq sheet (see "Frequently Asked Questions"). Use menu bar on left of AMA page to access information.

Online Resources

Journal Abbreviations

List of medical journal titles and their abbreviations. Type the journal name in the search box. This is a link to the Twin Cities Library's page.

IMRAD:
Scientific Reports

When to use and not to use IMRAD. Detailed information about each section of an IMRAD paper. (The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison).

IMRAD:
Research Papers

IMRAD is a structure for writing scientific papers. Provides sample headings and a brief description under each. Links to other IMRAD information. (Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere)

Proposal Writing:
Writing Successful Research Proposals for Medical Science

Debra Schwinn, Elizabeth DeLong, & Steven Shafer. Published in Anesthesiology, 1998.

Proposal Writing:
The Business of Science

Wendy Sanders, American College of Surgeons: Surgical Research Center. Describes the NIH review criteria and tips for writing each section of a proposal.

Proposal Writing:
RxPG Community Website

RxPG Community Website for Medical Students and Doctors. Brief descriptions of sections of a research proposal.

Proposal Writing:
How to Write a Research Proposal

University of Edinburgh Doctoral Training Centre in Neuroinformatics & Computational Neuroscience. A brief and useful guideline for student proposals.

Public Health Writing

Donald Halstead, writing instructor, Harvard School of Public Health. The Writer's Challenge: Credibility, Arguments, and Structure in Public Health Writing. Examines "the key structure of texts and critical arguments in public health writing."

Meta-Analysis

Guidelines for writing meta-analyses, with examples.

Students' Questions, Our Answers

How do I describe a Likert-type scale in my text?

We found no guidelines in the AMA for typing Likert-type scales in the text. However, p. 877 of the AMA manual (10th) offers a definition of Likert scale and formats the example this way:

1, strongly approve; 2, approve; 3, undecided or neutral; 4, disapprove; 5, strongly disapprove

Be consistent throughout your paper.

How do I create half spaces for grouping of long numbers? (See AMA 18.4.3)

Click the appropriate link for directions on creating half spaces:
[WORD 2007 version] ----- [WORD2003 version]

Is there a quick way to create superscripts in my paper?

Superscripts (link for directions)

I want to start my paper with a quote. How do I cite and format?

You are probably referring to an epigraph. See AMA section 2.7 (10th ed.)

How do I format my references so they appear "blocked"?

Reference Page Format (link for directions)

May I change the capitalization of the first word in a quote to make it fit my sentence?

Yes, but place brackets around the letter. (AMA 8.6.1)

Should I include a trademark symbol when I use a proprietary name (brand name) in my paper?

Trademark symbols ( ® or TM) are NOT used in AMA text (AMA 15.4.)

Is it ok to use an abbreviations in headings?

Abbreviations should not be used in headings (AMA 2.8.3), and should be used only sparingly elsewhere in the text. Read the cautionary guidelines at the top of AMA p. 442.

Is there a space after "doi" on the reference page?

There is no space after the colon that follows “doi” (see, for example, AMA #5, p. 65)

What is the correct capitalization of DOI and PMID?

When mentioned in running text, the terms DOI and PMID usually appear in all caps.
However, in a reference entry, doi is not capitalized but PMID is. The AMA provides no example of PMID in a reference (but see AMA 3.15); however an example is provided by McWhorter School of Pharmacy.

Minneapolis School of Anesthesia

Forms of Writing

AMA for Nurse Anesthesia

Online Resources

Students' Questions, Our Answers