Nursing Student References

This page contains reference examples for clinical practice for nurses. Many of these examples are presented elsewhere on the APA Style website but are consolidated here for ease of use.

We want this page to be as helpful as possible, so if a helpful nursing source is missing, please let us know by emailing the APA Style team.

Note . Many nursing reference examples have group authors, which can be abbreviated in the first-in-text citation if desired (see the page about the author-date citation system for more). In the reference, spell out the full name of a group author; do not use the abbreviation.

Journal article

1. Journal article
2. Journal article with an article number
3. UpToDate article
4. Cochrane review
5. StatPearls

Books and book chapters

6. Authored or edited book
7. Chapter in an edited book

Government and organizational publications

8. Report by a government agency or other group author
9. Clinical practice guideline with a group author
10. Clinical practice guideline by individual authors at a government agency, published as part of a series
11. Ethics code
12. Position statement
13. Fact sheet
14. State nursing practice act (NPA)

Reference works

15. Drug information
16. Lab or diagnostic manual
17. Medical dictionary
18. Entry in a medical dictionary

Audiovisual media

19. YouTube Video
20. Podcast or podcast episode

Online and other media

21. Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project
22. PowerPoint slides or lecture notes
23. Webpage on a website

• If a journal article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If available, include the issue number for a journal article.
• Do not include database information in the reference unless the journal article comes from a database that publishes works of limited circulation or original, proprietary content, such as UpToDate.
• If the journal article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online journal that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• Do not include PubMed Identifiers (PMIDs) in APA Style references.

• If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the word “Article” and then the article number instead of the page range.
• Some journals, including Journal of Nursing Management, number volumes by the year of publication. In this example, 2023 is both the year of publication, which appears in parentheses after the author, and the volume number, which appears in italics after the journal title.

• Articles in the UpToDate database are available only in that database and have information that changes over time.
• In the reference list, format UpToDate articles like journal articles. Italicize the database name in the reference like a journal title, but do not italicize the database name if it appears in the text.
• Use the year of last update in the date element.
• Include a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and versions of the page are not archived.
• Although the article includes the names of a section editor and deputy editor, these do not appear in the reference.

• Cochrane reviews are available only in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and use the same format as UpToDate references—that is, they are formatted like journal articles.
• Provide the name of the database (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) in italic title case in the reference, but if you write the name of the database elsewhere in the paper, do not italicize it.
• Different versions of Cochrane reviews include different information, which means the reference might vary too. Follow the principle of citing what you see.
  • Full-text versions of Cochrane reviews do not include volume numbers, issue numbers, or article numbers. The full-text version displays when you visit the DOI of the article.
  • However, the article PDFs show the year as the volume number, an issue number, and an article number.
  • It is fine to omit the volume, issue, and article number from the Cochrane review reference if the information is missing from your version of the article, but if you do see this information, include it just as you would for any journal article.

• StatPearls articles are available from multiple locations, such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information databaseopens in new window and the StatPearls websiteopens in new window.
• Although it is preferred in APA Style not to cite databases unless the database provides proprietary content, the recommended approach to citing StatPearls is to link to the material on the StatPearls website. This is similar to how a journal article DOI leads to the publisher’s version of record, even though the user may have accessed the article through a database.
• List only the authors as shown on the StatPearls website in the reference. Although StatPearls materials are often also edited, the editor does not appear in the reference.

• Provide the author(s) or editor(s), year of publication, title, and publisher of the book. Use the same format for both print books and ebooks.
• For a book with multiple editors, use the abbreviation “(Eds.)” after the names, followed by a period. See our additional edited book examples for an edited book with a single editor.
• Use the copyright date shown on the book’s copyright page as the year of publication in the reference, even if the copyright date is different than the release date.
• Include any edition information in parentheses after the title, without italics.
• If the book includes a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• Do not include the publisher location.
• If the ebook is from an academic research database and has no DOI or stable URL, end the book reference after the publisher name. Do not include the name of the database in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print book.

• Use this format for both print and ebook edited book chapters, including edited book chapters from academic research databases.
• If the chapter has a DOI, include the chapter DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• Do not include the publisher location.
• If the chapter is from an academic research database and has no DOI or stable URL, end the book reference after the publisher name. Do not include the name of the database in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print book chapter.
• Include any edition information in the same parentheses as the page range of the chapter, separated with a comma.

• For a page or a report from an organization’s website without individual authors, use the name of the organization as the author.
• For government authors, use the name of the specific agency responsible for the work as the author.
• Group authors can be abbreviated in the text (e.g., NIMH for National Institute of Mental Health); however, do not include an abbreviation for a group author in a reference list entry.
• Some online works note when the work was last updated. If this date is clearly attributable to the specific content you are citing rather than the overall website, use the updated date in the reference.
• Do not include a date of last review in a reference because content that has been reviewed has not necessarily been changed. If a date of last review is noted on a work, ignore it for the purposes of the reference.
• Italicize the title of the report or webpage.
• When the author of the report or webpage and the website name are the same, omit the website name from the source element to avoid repetition.
• For pages from the Healthy People 2030 website, which is maintained by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, include the website name Healthy People 2030 in the source element of the reference.
• End the reference with the URL.

• Most clinical practice guidelines are published as reports or webpages and so follow the report or webpage reference type, which have the same structure.
• Use the committee or agency that developed the guideline in the author element of the reference when no individual authors are credited.
• When the title page or cover credits both a committee and an agency, provide the committee name in the author element of the reference and the agency name in the source element of the reference.
• When the title page or cover credits only an agency, provide the agency name in the author element of the reference. The second and third examples show this: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organization are agencies.
• Provide the year in which the guideline was developed in the date element of the reference.
• If you are citing an updated guideline, use the year of the update in the reference.
• Provide the title of the guideline in italic sentence case.
• Provide the name of the website from which the guideline was obtained in the source element of the reference.
• If the website name is the same as the author, omit the site name to avoid repetition (as in the NICE guideline and World Health Organization examples).
• Provide a URL for the guideline.

• Recent issues of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are now published like journal articles rather than reports, in which case the reference follows the journal article format as shown.

• References for ethics codes follow the same format as reports.
• The Code of Ethics for Nurses is also available as a print book or ebook, in which case the reference is the same as shown here except the link in the reference would lead to the applicable version.
• When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition.
• To cite a specific section of an ethics code, create a reference to the full code and then indicate the specific section in the in-text citation. Use the language of the code to refer to sections (e.g., sections, provisions, standards).
  • Parenthetical citation to section of an ethics code : (American Nurses Association, 2025, Provision 1.4)
  • Narrative citation to section of an ethics code : American Nurses Association (2025, Provision 1.4)

• References for position statements follow the same format as reports.
• Provide as specific a date as is available.
• When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition.

• For fact sheets published by the government, use the name of the specific agency in the author element of the reference and list parent agencies in the source element.
• Provide a description in square brackets, such as “[Fact sheet],” after the title because this work is outside the typical peer-reviewed literature.

• Nursing practice acts are state laws and thus follow guidelines for legal references. Different states codify the law in different ways, so the exact details of the reference vary depending on the state.
• Existing references to acts are usually already in legal style and will require only minimal adjustment to fit APA Style.
• The underlying pattern for this kind of reference is as follows: Name of the Statute, Title number Source § Section number(s) (Year). Note this format does not include any italics.
• Include additional information in the text as needed, for example: Nurse practitioners in California treat many different populations, including family/individual across the lifespan, neonatal, and older adults (Professional and Vocational Regulations, 2023).

• The format for drug information references is the same as for webpages.
• Provide the name of the drug or pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug in the author element of the reference.
• If a date is not available, substitute “(n.d.).”
• Provide the title of the drug information (usually the name of the drug) in italic sentence case, followed by the description “[Drug information]” in square brackets (or other wording as appropriate).
• Provide the name of the website from which the drug information was obtained in the source element of the reference. If the website name is the same as the author, omit the site name to avoid repetition.
• Provide a URL for the drug information.
• Note that brand names are proper nouns, and thus capitalized (e.g., Ozempic), whereas generic names are common nouns and not capitalized (e.g., semaglutide).

• Laboratory or diagnostic manuals follow the format as books.
• Further examples for editions and entries in the DSM and ICD are available.

• References for medical dictionaries follow the format of the source (e.g., website, print book, mobile app).
• The author may be an organization, individuals, or editors.
• Provide the year of the version used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the medical dictionary in italic sentence case, followed by the edition number (as with the example), place the edition information in parentheses without italics.
• For medical dictionary apps, provide the version number of the app in a separate set of parentheses after the edition information.
• Provide the publisher of the app or the name of the app store (e.g., App Store, Google Play Store). In the example, the app was downloaded from the publisher’s website, so the publisher (F. A. Davis Company) is provided in the source element of the reference. If you downloaded the app from the App Store instead, use “App Store” instead of “F. A. Davis Company.”
• Provide a URL when possible.

• To cite an entry in a medical dictionary, follow the format for an edited book chapter.
• The author may be an organization or individuals.
• For edited works without attribution for specific entries (as in the Phosphatase example), use the name of the entry in the author element of the reference.
• Provide the year of the version used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the entry in the title element of the reference (unless it was moved to the author element).
• In the source element, provide the medical dictionary editors, title, and edition. For mobile app medical dictionaries, also include the version information in parentheses and the description “[Mobile app].” Then provide the publisher or app store from which the app was obtained.
• Provide a URL when possible.

• Use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
• If the account did not actually create the work, explain this in the text if it is important for readers to know. However, if that would mean citing a source that appears unauthoritative, you might also look for the author’s YouTube channel, official website, or other social media to see whether the same video is available elsewhere.
• To cite the words of individuals featured in a video, name or describe the individual(s) in your sentence in the text and then provide a parenthetical citation for the video.
• Provide the specific date on which the video was uploaded.
• Italicize the title of the video.
• Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title.
• Provide the site name (YouTube) and URL of the video.

• List the host(s) of the podcast as the author. Alternatively, provide the executive producers, if known. In either case, include their role in parentheses.
• For a whole podcast:
  • Provide the span of years during which the podcast aired in the date element of the reference (e.g., 2020−present, 2017−2025). If the podcast started and ended within 1 year, provide just that year (e.g., 2019).
  • Write the title of a whole podcast in italic sentence case.
• For a podcast episode:
  • Provide the specific date the episode aired.
  • Provide the episode number after the episode title in parentheses. If the podcast does not number episodes, omit the episode number. Do not italicize the episode title or the episode number.
  • After the episode title, write the word “In” and the title of the podcast in italic sentence case.
• Specify the type of podcast in square brackets, for example: “[Audio podcast],” “[Video podcast],” “[Audio podcast episode],” “[Video podcast episode].”
• In general, end the reference with the URL. If the URL of the podcast is unknown (e.g., if accessed via an app), omit the URL from the reference.

• DNP projects published in university digital repositories use the same format as published dissertations and theses.
• Describe the project in square brackets (e.g., “[Doctor of nursing practice project]”), followed by the name of the university that granted the degree.
• Provide the title of the repository in the source element of the reference.
• End with the URL of the DNP project.

• When the slides are available online to anyone, provide the site name on which they are hosted in the source element of the reference, followed by the URL from which the slides are available.

• For a page on a government website without individual authors, use the specific agency responsible for the webpage as the author. The names of parent agencies not present in the author element appear in the source element. This creates concise in-text citations and complete reference list entries.
• Provide as specific a date as possible for the webpage. If no date is available, use “n.d.”
• Italicize the title of the webpage.
• When the author of the webpage and the site name are the same, omit the site name from the source element to avoid repetition.
• End the reference with the URL.