Avera Style Guide

Preferred Spellings

There are often several correct ways to spell a word. Please use the spellings shown below to maintain consistency in medical center documents. Note:  Consult Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary or The Associated Press Stylebook for words not listed here.

• birth weight
• breastfeeding
• caregiver, caregiving
• checkup (n.), check up (v.)
• chickenpox
• child care (preferred term over daycare or day care)
• coworker
• cross-cultural
• dietitian
• evidence-based
• family-centered care
• fax
• flyer (not flier)
• follow-up (n.)   follow up (v.), follow-up (adj.)
• full-time (adj.)
• fundraising
• groundbreaking
• handout (one word)
• health care
• high technology (n.), high-tech(nology) (adj.)
• in-house
• interdisciplinary
• multidisciplinary
• nonprofit (always use when referring to a 501 (c)(3) organization, no hyphen. Do not use not-for-profit.
• orthopedics
• part-time (adj.)
• patient-care provider, patient-care setting
• patient-centered
• preoperative, postoperative
• preprinted (one word, no hyphen)
• preregister
• stepdown unit (not step down or step-down)
• teenager
• underway (adj.), under way (adv.)
• up-to-date (as an adjective before a noun, “up to date” elsewhere)
• well child care
• workstation
• worldwide
• X-ray (not x-ray or X ray)

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Acronyms

Like any industry, the health care field has its own peculiar alphabet soup. Spell out the full name on first reference, followed by the acronym in parentheses. After that, use the acronym alone.

Below are the full names and acronyms of some organizations you may mention in documents you write:

American  Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

American Heart Association (AHA)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) – The commission prefers to use the acronym alone, with a tag line: CARF . . . The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA)

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations  – This may also be shortened on second reference to The Joint Commission.

National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NOTE: Do not use periods in acronyms.

Web only: In general, try to avoid using acronyms on the Web. Only use an acronym on second reference if it’s well known (for example, HMO, JCAHO).

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States and Countries

In narrative text, such as reports, Web content, news stories or letters, spell out the state’s name when the name of the state stands alone (without modifying a city), which supports a more narrative tone:

Kansas
Mississippi
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas

In non-narrative text, such as resumes and mailing addresses or when the state modifies a city, use The Associated Press Stylebook. Return addresses, etc., should use two-letter abbreviations without periods, per postal code. Lists, etc. should use shortened name abbreviations.

Abbreviate United States and the United Kingdom only when used as adjectives. Use periods in the abbreviations. United States of America is abbreviated USA (no periods).

Avera  Sacred Heart Hospital treats patients in the United Kingdom . The U.K. market is very different from its U.S. counterpart. For example, in the United States , the health care industry is more regulated.

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Capitalization

Organizations and Institutions

• Capitalize the full names of organizations, institutions and groups.

American Medical Association
American Red Cross
Board of Trustees of Avera Queen of Peace

• Use lowercase when the organization, institution or group is referenced without the formal name.

the board of trustees or the board or the trustees
the association
the society
the council
the division
the university
the hospital

The American Medical Association is one of the most widely recognized associations in the health care industry. Members of the association include physicians who are dedicated to the health of America .

Directions and Regions

• Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern and so on, when they indicate compass direction.

He drove east to get to I-71.

She lives in southern Atlanta .

He dreamed of visiting the western United States .

• Capitalize these words when they refer to specific geographic regions.

Our services include the only transplant services in Southwestern South Dakota, Northeastern Nebraska and Northwestern Iowa .

Avera is located in the Midwest .

Seasons

• Lowercase spring, summer, fall and winter unless part of a formal name.

He leaves in spring 2002.

The Winter Ball sponsored by Avera St. Luke’s was a big success.

Common Nouns

• Capitalize common nouns when they are part of the full name for a person, place or thing. Use lowercase when these nouns are used alone.

In 1948, the Democratic Party nominated Harry Truman for president of the United States . That year, both parties held national conventions.

The Mississippi River handles a large volume of cargo ships. The river flows into the Gulf of Mexico .

Proper Nouns and Trade Names

• Capitalize proper nouns, formal names and adjectives, and words used as proper nouns.

Down syndrome
Fanconi anemia
Freudian slip

• Proper nouns that have acquired a common meaning are not capitalized.

eustachian tube
cesarean section

Other Capitalization Rules

• Do not use all uppercase letters except in acronyms.

When in Doubt…

• It’s safer to use lowercase when you’re unsure about whether a word should be capitalized.

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Professional Titles

In Text

• People’s job titles should be lowercase in text. This follows contemporary style and avoids pileups of capital letters.

In her eight years with the organization, she had worked as a nurse and as a nurse coordinator.

One of the speakers was Ronald B. McKinley, PhD, vice president of Human Resources.

Dr. Smith is professor of biology at the University of South Dakota .

NOTE: Do not separate the title from the department area with a comma. Instead, use of.

Do:  Robert H. Beekman III, MD, director of the Division of Cardiology
Do Not:  Robert H. Beekman III, MD, director, Division of Cardiology

Acceptable designations for John T. Porter include:

president/CEO
president and chief executive officer

NOTE: The term CEO has become so common that it has an entry in the dictionary. It is the best choice in an informal context: Dressed in jeans and cowboy boots, she didn’t fit the stereotype of a CEO.

Capitalize titles only when immediately preceding person names. Professional and occupational titles preceding a name are also capitalized:  Radiologist Joseph Ferdinand.

Do not capitalize titles when standing alone or after a name.

• When identifying an elected official, use lowercase for the title except when it directly precedes his or her name.

Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, was from Illinois . Before entering politics, President Lincoln was an attorney.

Of all the senators in Congress, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee is the only physician.

• Chair – accepted title for the presiding officer of a board or committee.  Avoid chairman, chairperson or chairwoman.

On Business Cards and Letterheads

• Capitalize a title when it appears under a name, such as on a business card or in an address.

John T. Porter
President/CEO
Avera Health

For Academic Degrees, Licensures and Certifications

• Write academic degrees, professional licensures and certifications in capital letters without periods.

MD, RN, CNA, PhD, BS, BA, MS, MBA, SLP, RPh, DDS, MPH

• In cases where you are writing out the degree, write Master of Science or master’s degree.

Academic Titles

• Named professorships and chairs are capitalized.

David Nash, MD, MBA, Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor and Chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College

Individual Titles and Courtesy Titles

• Use the degree, licensure or certification in the first reference. Use the courtesy title (with periods) in subsequent references. Individual titles for physicians should be treated in the following manner:

First reference                Daniel I. Choo, MD
Second reference            Dr. Choo

• Individual titles for other health care professionals, such as nurses, should be treated in the following manner:

First reference                Dee Daniels, RN
Second reference            Ms. Daniels (last name with courtesy title)

Middle Initials

• Use the middle initial for formal name; omit when using informal name.

James M. Anderson
Jim Anderson

Post-Titles

• In personal names, no comma is used to set off elements that follow the name, such as Jr., Sr., III, etc.

John Greinwald Jr., MD
James Lawrence III

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