Q: Would you hyphenate “white coat hypertension”?
A: We would follow the latest edition of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. The 11th edition recommends inclusion of a hyphen: white-coat hypertension.
Q: If 2 footnote symbols appear next to each other in a table, should any punctuation be introduced between them?
A: Yes. As with the policy for citation of a reference citation and a footnote symbol side by side (see page 95 in the print), add a comma. So, you might have superscript a,b; or superscript a,c-e.
Q: I would like to know how to cite your 10th edition in the style recommended by the 10th edition.
A: Glad to oblige:
Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.
Q: Section 3.10 advises beginning the subtitle of a journal article cited in a reference list with a lowercase letter. Is this true even if the title ends with a question mark?
A: Yes. Here is an example, edited to style:
Mayer AP, Files JA, Ko MG, Blair JE. Do socialized gender differences have a role in mentoring? academic advancement of women in medicine. Mayo Clin Proc. 2008;83(2):204-207.
The same policy would apply if the title were to end with an exclamation point, although those are rare in scholarly article titles!—Cheryl Iverson, MA
My nursing clients wish to follow the JCAHO guideline for microgram (mcg) rather than the symbol preferred by the Manual. What rationale might I provide to them to go with the appropriate symbol?
When I’m formatting a reference for a citation, should the publication be spelled out as ‘Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report’ or abbreviated as ‘MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.’? I’m seeing it both ways.