References

When producing communications for the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, please refer to these guidelines or contact University Relations at (316) 293-2643 or wicur@kumc.edu with questions.

Citing References | Style Guide

Citing References

When citing references for KUSM-W publications, please bold the names of all KUSM-W personnel and follow the American Medical Association’s style guide.

If you have questions, please contact University Relations at 293-2643 or wicur@kumc.edu.

When citing paper, poster, and abstract references, please use the following style:

Citing paper, Poster, and abstract references

Type of Entry	Reference List
Paper or Poster	Dobbs D, Breast Cancer in Men. Paper (Poster) presented at: American Cancer Society Annual Convention; Sept. 28, 2006; Topeka, KS.
Abstract	Donley D, Davidson, A. Treatments for Recurring Throat Cancer. In: Proceedings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology; Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2007; Charlotte, NC. Abstract 375.

top of page

Style Guide

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

AFS – Acronym for Administrative and Financial Services, the financial office for the KUSM-W campus.

a.m., p.m. – Always lowercase, with periods. There’s no such thing as 12 a.m. or p.m. It’s noon or midnight.

ARC – Acronym for Appreciation and Recognition Committee, a committee that coordinates employee appreciation and recognition activities.

ASA – Acronym for Academic and Student Affairs, the department that oversees programs and support for KUSM-W students.

abbreviations/acronyms – When using university names, titles, or any items which may be unfamiliar to the reader, spell out the name in full on first reference, followed by the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses: Women's Research Institute (WRI), Kansas Public Health Workforce and Leadership Development (WALD) Center. The abbreviation or acronym may then be used with clarity on subsequent references.

academic degrees, certifications, honors – Use no periods—MD, RN, PhD, MPH, DrPH. Lowercase degrees if spelled out: bachelor of arts, doctorate. Use an apostrophe in the short form: bachelor's degree, master's degree. Preferred university style is to cite only terminal degrees. Degree abbreviations always follow the recipient's full name and are set off with commas: Jan Green, PhD. Avoid preceding a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and following it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference.

academic titles – Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as professor or associate dean when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere: Associate Dean Robert Brown; Fred Black, MD, professor and chair, Family and Community Medicine. Always identify faculty members by their academic rank and department in published materials, except in listings of cited sources. If a faculty member holds several academic titles, use the one that has a direct bearing on the subject of the piece. Uppercase modifiers such as department in titles: Department Chair Joe Smith.

BPC – Acronym for business procurement card, a state-issued credit card used to make small purchases.

Baby Jay – Always two words, he is the KUSM-W mascot. To book Baby Jay for an event, contact University Relations.

board of directors, board of trustees – Lowercase unless part of a formal name: He sat on the board of directors. He was a member of the KU Alumni Association National Board of Directors.

CRI – Acronym for Clinic Research Institute, a for-profit subsidiary of the Medical Practice Association, created Oct. 1, 2003. CRI’s clinical research studies include Phases I, II, and III randomized trials for psychiatric, neurological, and medical disorders.

CSL – Acronym for Clinical Skills Lab, a common abbreviation for the Earl L. Mills Clinical Skills Lab. Located in the office of Academic and Student Affairs, the lab is equipped with training models, mannequins, and biomedical equipment used to teach medical students about conditions affecting the human body.

Category 1 – capitalize the "c" if it is not preceded by "AMA PRA": Category 1 credit, AMA PRA category 1 credit

chair – Accepted title for the presiding officer of a department or committee in medical school publications. Avoid chairperson.

chancellor – The chief executive officer of the University of Kansas. Capitalize when it precedes the name, lowercase when it follows: Chancellor Robert Hemenway; Robert Hemenway, PhD, chancellor.

class – Medical students are identified in published items by year of study rather than as juniors or seniors to prevent confusion with undergraduates: He is a third-year medical student; she is in her fourth year. Use of the designator W04 to identify a student from the Class of 2004 who is enrolled at Wichita is for internal use only.

comma – Add a comma between all elements in a series. Example: The students came, saw, and went.

courtesy titles - Use Dr. only if the subject is a medical doctor and the story relates to the medical field.

courtyard – Outdoor patio area partially enclosed by the KUSM-W buildings. Lowercase unless part of a formal name: Courtyard Grill.

DO – Acronym for Dean’s Office, located on the second floor of the KUSM-W campus.

Daniel K. Roberts Amphitheater – Roberts Amphitheater is acceptable on second reference.

Daniel K. Roberts Center for Research – Roberts Center for Research is acceptable on second reference.

dates – Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd, rd, or th. Set off day and year with commas. Abbreviate months in all usages except prose. For future events, include day of week before date. Example: He was born Jan. 3, 1960, in Wichita. We went to the ice rink in January. The event takes place Wednesday, Jan. 6.

days of week – Do not abbreviate days of week, except as needed in tabular format. 

dean – The chief executive officer of the medical school. Capitalize when it precedes the name, lowercase when it follows: Dean S. Edwards Dismuke, MD, MSPH; S. Edwards Dismuke, MD, MSPH, dean.

department – Capitalize names of departments: Department of Pediatrics. The word department is never abbreviated. University style also eliminates "Department of" when it follows a person's name and title: Sechin Cho, MD, professor and chair, Pediatrics.

distinguished professorships - The Office of Institutional Research and Planning's "Profiles" is the authority for named and distinguished professors. The most recent graduate or undergraduate catalog may also be used. Capitalize all words in titles of named and distinguished professors. Use "the" between the name of the professor and the title of the professorship if he or she is the only person with that title. Use "a" if there is more than one person with that particular professorship. Ronald T. Borchardt, the Summerfield Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry; Valentino Stella, a University Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. On second reference or if the entire proper name of the professorship is not used, do not capitalize. She was named a distinguished professor in 1994. He also holds a distinguished professorship in medicinal chemistry. Retired distinguished professors retain the title of distinguished professor but not the proper name in the title.

division – See department.

doctor, Dr. – Avoid preceding a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and following it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference: Dr. James White, MD, is incorrect; use James White, MD, for all first references, White (no Dr.) for all subsequent references. Reserve the title for people with medical degrees. Use the abbreviation Dr. with the name in first reference; drop it in subsequent references. If a faculty member has a medical degree as well as an academic or administrative appointment, use the title Dr. only when it is relevant to the story.

Ed Tech – Acronym for Education Technology, a division of Information Technology, that provides photography, Web design/development, database development and maintenance, on-line course development, instructional design, digital imaging, graphic design, and medical illustration.

e-mail – Hyphenate.

Endowment Association – See Kansas University Endowment Association.

esplanade – Foyer/lobby area inside the main entrance to KUSM-W (west side of building under flags). Do not capitalize unless part of a title: Take-a-break Escape to the Esplanade.

FCM – Acronym for Family and Community Medicine, an academic department that provides student and resident education, continuing education, faculty development, and patient care in the practice area of family medicine.

FM – Acronym for Facilities Management, department that oversees the KUSM-W campus facilities, including housekeeping, maintenance, motor pool, and room set-up services.

FY – Acronym for fiscal year.

Farha Medical Library – Acceptable second reference for George J. Farha Medical Library.

fellow – Lowercase: She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

fellow/fellowship program – Lowercase unless part of a title. Designates participants/programs in medical subspecialty training following residency. The Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education (WCGME) has one fellowship program, which is always designated as an entity of the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita: Adult Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Program

fiscal year – The medical school's fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30 and carries the numerical designation of the latter year, i.e., July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, constitutes FY08.

GME – Acronym for Graduate Medical Education. See Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education.

George J. Farha Medical Library – Farha Medical Library is acceptable on second reference.

HOP – Acronym for Health of the Public. Required clerkship in which fourth-year medical students study—and look for ways to improve—a common health problem of a specific population.

HR – Acronym for Human Resources.

Hazel Fenske Student Center – A lounge for students named after former long-time staff member Hazel Fenske and located in Academic and Student Affairs.

health care – Always two words, even as a compound modifier: She is a health care provider. She is interested in health care.

IM – Acronym for Internal Medicine, an academic department that provides student and resident education, research, and patient care in the area of internal medicine.

IT – Acronym for Information Technology, a support department composed of two service units—Education Technology and Information Technology Services—and one administrative unit. Oversees campus computer networks, telephone system, videoconference and satellite television programming, photography, Web services, and online courses.

institutional review board/independent ethics committee – With an acronym of IRB/IEC, this group approves, monitors, and reviews biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the alleged aim to protect the rights and welfare of the subjects.

Information Technology Administration - Administrative function and support of Information Technology

Information Technology Services - Services focus on implementation, support, and maintenance of PC computers and network support. Services for installation, configuration, and maintenance of telephone and phone line programming and devices. Provision of videoconference and satellite television programming. Set up and operation of audiovisual equipment and production of audio and video programming.

JayStar – A Human Resources program designed to acknowledge and reward KUSM-W employees.

KU – Acceptable second reference for the University of Kansas. Used without periods.

KU Cancer Center - On first reference, University of Kansas Cancer Center or KU Cancer Center if the university has been mentioned previously. On second reference, cancer center or center. The KU Cancer Center includes a research unit, the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute; and a clinical unit, the University of Kansas Hospital Cancer Center. The KU Cancer Center is the umbrella name over both.

KU Medical Center – Second reference for the University of Kansas Medical Center, located in Kansas City, KS, for internal or external use.

KU School of Medicine-Wichita – See The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

KUEA – No longer used. Formerly an acceptable abbreviation for Kansas University Endowment Association. Use KU Endowment instead, acceptable in all but legal uses. For legal documents, use Kansas University Endowment Association.

KUMC – A second reference for the University of Kansas Medical Center, located in Kansas City, KS. Acceptable for internal use only.

KUSM-W – A second reference for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita to be used in parentheses following first reference in internal documents and publications.

KUSM-W west atrium – Lobby area in the building addition housing the Daniel K. Roberts Center for Research and the Kansas Health Foundation Center for Primary Care. Do not capitalize west atrium unless part of a title: KUSM-W West Atrium Art Show.

Kansas - In general, the state name does not appear after Kansas towns in text unless there is a possibility of confusion with another city of the same name. Kansas City and Independence are among Kansas towns that should carry state abbreviations. Pittsburg need not be identified as being a Kansas city, because the Pennsylvania city is spelled Pittsburgh. Use postal abbreviation of KS.

Kansas Board of Regents - On second reference, Board of Regents, Kansas regents, regents or board.

Kansas University Endowment Association – The association is the only university affiliate with the proper name, Kansas University. All others use the University of Kansas. KU Endowment acceptable in all but legal uses. For legal documents, use Kansas University Endowment Association. Do not use KUEA. There is a Wichita KU Endowment office.

library – The school’s library is the George J. Farha Medical Library. Acceptable second reference is Farha Medical Library.

MC – Acronym for Management Council, a group of management level personnel that meet as a group the third Wednesday of each month to share information and feedback.

MD – Acronym for medical doctor degree. See academic degrees.

MD/MPH – A five-year KU combined program to earn both medical doctor and master of public health degrees.

MPA – Medical Practice Association. See The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Medical Practice Association.

MPH – Master of public health degree. See academic degrees.

Master of Public Health – University of Kansas master of public health degree program. KU MPH degree program on second reference.

Medical Practice Association – See The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Medical Practice Association.

medical school – As a second reference, lowercase medical school, which is not a proper noun, even if it refers to the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

OB-GYN – Acronym for Obstetrics and Gynecology, medical/surgical specialties, commonly combined, that deal with pregnancy and the care of the female reproductive system. Also commonly used in reference to a physician specializing in these areas of medicine.

OoR – Acronym for Office of Research, a department of the school that focuses on collaborating with the professional community to secure extramural funding for clinical research and to develop research from concept to publication.

orthopedics – Use this modern spelling. Use the archaic spelling—orthopaedic—only when part of a proper name: doctors study orthopedics at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program.

PGE – Acronym for Post Graduate Education, the department that coordinates continuing medical education activities, including Grand Rounds.

PhD – Acronym for doctoral degree. See academic degrees.

PMPH – Acronym for Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

Patient Care Center – The on-campus facility where faculty physicians, resident physicians, and medical students see patients. Not to be referred to as the clinic.

preventive – Avoid using preventative.

product/company names – The use of product names or companies may be construed as a tacit endorsement by the university, thus raising conflict-of-interest questions and other problems. Use generic titles or descriptions whenever possible: "A major pharmaceutical manufacturer revealed…"

professor – See academic titles.

Pulse – Term used for the KU Medical Center Web site. On the Wichita campus, the term is frequently used to refer to the telephone and e-mail pages housed on the Web site: http://www2.kumc.edu/directory/.

quotation marks - Put titles (books, movies, lectures) in quotes. Do not quote titles, such as Best Teacher of the Year or Person Most Likely to Succeed.

RHES – Acronym for Rural Health and Education Services. An office of the University of Kansas Medical Center, housed on the KUSM-W campus. RHES programs, which emphasize recruitment and retention of rural Kansas health care professionals as well as temporary coverage for medical professionals, including the Kansas Bridging Program, the Kansas Recruitment Center, Kansas Locum Tenens, and Kansas Medical Resource.

RN – Acronym for registered nurse. See academic degrees.

resident physician – A graduate physician engaged in advanced training in a medical specialty.

residency program – A program of advanced training in a medical specialty for medical school graduates. All are administered by Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education except for the Smoky Hill program. Always designated as an entity of the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita or KU School of Medicine-Wichita (second reference) in published articles.

Roberts Amphitheater – Acceptable on second reference. See Daniel K. Roberts Amphitheater.

Roberts Center for Research – Acceptable on second reference. See Daniel K. Roberts Center for Research.

SOK – Acronym for State of Kansas.

SP – Acronym for Standardized Patient Program, a mandatory, not-graded program designed to help third-year medical students hone their communication skills in a mock clinical setting. Students are required to examine and interact with specially trained members of the community who portray patients with specific problems. Each session is monitored through video by coordinators outside the examination room, and students are provided a video recording of each session.

schools – The University of Kansas Medical Center comprises the following schools: The University of Kansas School of Allied Health; The University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City and Wichita; The University of Kansas School of Nursing.

Smoky Hill – See residency programs.

spacing after periods – Always single space between sentences.

states – Use the two-letter, capitalized, postal abbreviations in all instances, except in longer prose. Example: He lives in Wichita, KS. He is from Kansas.

telephone numbers – Complete telephone numbers should be provided in any written copy, including the area code and seven-digit numbers with parentheses around the area code: (316) 293-2635. For internal publications, use the five-digit extension: Call Postgraduate Education, ext. 3-2636, for further information.

The University of Kansas – Not Kansas University. Always include the article. The article should be lowercased, except when it begins a sentence or is used in a stand-alone phrase, Department of Philosophy, The University of Kansas. KU (no periods) is acceptable on second reference or in internal documents or publications. Include the location, Lawrence, KS, on first reference. Example: He plans to attend the University of Kansas; for more information, write to The University of Kansas, Continuing Education, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045.

The University of Kansas Medical Center – This is the proper name for the campus in Kansas City. The School of Medicine is one of three schools, including the School of Allied Health and School of Nursing, located at that institution. The Graduate School of the University of Kansas is represented at the medical center by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. KU Medical Center is acceptable as a second reference. KUMC may be used as a second reference for internal purposes only. Include the location, Kansas City, KS, on first reference.

The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita – This is the proper title of this institution. KU School of Medicine-Wichita or KU Medical School-Wichita are both acceptable as second references. Use of the abbreviation, KUSM-W, can be used in internal communication. Please note that no spaces are used before or after the hyphen in the formal name.

The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Medical Practice Association (MPA) – Private, not-for-profit corporation established to provide medical education, research, and medical care through its physicians and other health care providers. MPA members are full-time faculty at KUSM-W who provide patient care at the school’s outpatient clinics and other health care entities.

Times - Use noon and midnight. Omit the colon and two zeros when writing hours: 8 p.m.

UR – Acronym for University Relations, the department that oversees marketing communications efforts for KUSM-W.

university – As a second reference, the university is not a proper noun and is not capitalized, even if it refers to the University of Kansas.

University of Kansas – See The University of Kansas.

University of Kansas Hospital - Do not use KU Med. The hospital, which is governed by an independent authority board, is affiliated with the University of Kansas schools of medicine, nursing and allied health.

University of Kansas Medical Center – See The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS.

University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita – See The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

Veterans Affairs – Formerly Veterans Administration, it became Cabinet level in 1989 with the full title Department of Veterans Affairs. VA (no periods) is used on second reference.

WCGME – Acronym for Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education, pronounced “wig-mee.” See Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education.

Web site – Two words in all cases, never hyphenated, even as a compound modifier. Always capitalize the ‘w.’

west atrium – See KUSM-W west atrium.

Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education – Administrative unit for the medical school's residency programs. WCGME is acceptable on second reference when it follows the name in parentheses on first reference.

Women's Research Institute – The research arm of the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology. WRI is acceptable on second reference when it follows the name in parentheses on first reference