Agencies and Organizations
Many organizations (eg, academies, associations, government agencies, research institutes) are known by abbreviations or acronyms rather than by their full names. Some of these organizations have identical abbreviations (eg, AHA for both American Heart Association and American Hospital Association). Therefore, to avoid confusion, the names of all organizations should be expanded at first mention in the text and other major elements of the manuscript, with the abbreviation following immediately in parentheses, in accordance with the guidelines offered in 14.11, Clinical, Technical, and Other Common Terms.
The article the is often used with abbreviated forms of agencies and organizations (eg, the UN, the AMA, the FDA); however, an article is not necessary with forms pronounced as words (eg, NASA, OSHA, WAME).
The following are associations and organizations commonly cited in JAMA and the Archives Journals. This list is intended to show examples and is not all-inclusive. Because there are other expansions of some of the abbreviations, authors and editors should verify that the expansion is correct in such instances.
AAAAI
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
AAAS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
AABB
American Association of Blood Banks
AACAP
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
AACC
American Association of Clinical Chemists
AACIA
American Association for Clinical Immunology and Allergy
AACN
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
AAD
American Academy of Dermatology
AAFP
American Academy of Family Physicians
AAFPRS
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
AAHSLD
Association of Academic Health Science Library Directors
AAI
American Association of Immunologists
AAMC
Association of American Medical Colleges
AAMCH
American Association of Maternal and Child Health
AAN
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Neuropathologists
American Academy of Nursing
AANA
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
AANP
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
AANS
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
AAO
American Academy of Ophthalmology
AAOHNS
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
AAOS
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
AAP
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Pathologists
AAPA
American Academy of Physician Assistants
American Association of Pathologists' Assistants
AAPHP
American Association of Public Health Physicians
AAPM
American Academy of Pain Medicine
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
AAPMR
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
AAPS
American Association of Plastic Surgeons
AARP
American Association of Retired Persons
AATM
American Academy of Tropical Medicine
AATS
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
AAUP
American Association of University Professors
AAWR
American Association for Women Radiologists
ABA
American Bar Association
ABMS
American Board of Medical Specialties
ACA
American College of Allergists
American College of Anesthetists
ACAAI
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
ACC
American College of Cardiology
ACCME
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
ACCP
American College of Chest Physicians
ACEP
American College of Emergency Physicians
ACG
American College of Gastroenterology
ACGME
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
ACHA
American College Health Association
ACHE
American College of Hospital Executives
ACIP
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
ACLM
American College of Legal Medicine
ACMQ
American College of Medical Quality
ACNM
American College of Nuclear Medicine
American College of Nurse-Midwives
ACNP
American College of Nuclear Physicians
ACOEM
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
ACOG
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
ACP
American College of Physicians
ACPE
American College of Physician Executives
ACPM
American College of Preventive Medicine
ACR
American College of Radiology
American College of Rheumatology
ACS
American Cancer Society
American Chemical Society
American College of Surgeons
ACSM
American College of Sports Medicine
ADA
American Dental Association
American Dermatological Association
American Diabetes Association
American Dietetic Association
ADRDA
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association
AERS
Adverse Event Reporting System
(US Food and Drug Administration)
AES
American Epilepsy Society
AFAR
American Federation for Aging Research
AFCR
American Federation for Clinical Research
AFIP
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
AFS
American Fertility Society
AGA
American Gastroenterological Association
AGPA
American Group Practice Association
AGS
American Geriatrics Society
AHA
American Heart Association
American Hospital Association
AHRA
American Healthcare Radiology Administrators
AHRQ
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AJCC
American Joint Committee on Cancer
ALA
American Library Association
American Lung Association
ALROS
American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society
AMA
Aerospace Medical Association
American Management Association
American Marketing Association
American Medical Association
Australian Medical Association
AMDA
American Medical Directors Association
AMPA
American Medical Publishers' Association
AMSA
American Medical Student Association
AMSUS
Association of Military Surgeons of the United States
AMWA
American Medical Women’s Association
American Medical Writers Association
ANA
American Neurological Association
American Nurses Association
ANSI
American National Standards Institute
AOA
Alpha Omega Alpha
American Orthopaedic Association
American Osteopathic Association
AOMA
American Occupational Medicine Association
AONE
American Organization of Nurse Executives
AORN
Association of Operating Room Nurses
AOS
American Otological Society
AOWHN
American Organization of Women’s Health Nurses
APA
Ambulatory Pediatrics Association
American Pharmaceutical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
APHA
American Public Health Association
APM
Academy of Physical Medicine
APS
American Physical Society
American Physiological Society
American Psychological Society
ARA
American Rheumatism Association
ARC
American Red Cross
ARENA
Applied Research Ethics National Association
ARRS
American Roentgen Ray Society
ARVO
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
ASA
American Society of Anesthesiologists
ASAM
American Society of Addiction Medicine
ASCN
American Society of Clinical Nutrition
ASCO
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society of Clinical Ophthalmology
ASCP
American Society of Clinical Pathologists
American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
ASCPT
American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
ASCRS
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
ASDR
American Society of Diagnostic Radiology
ASDS
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
ASG
American Society for Genetics
ASGE
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
ASHG
American Society of Human Genetics
ASLME
American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics
ASM
American Society for Microbiology
ASMT
American Society of Medical Technologists
ASPRS
American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons
ASTHO
Association of State and Territorial Health Officers
ASTMH
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
ASTRO
American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
ASTS
American Society of Transplant Surgeons
ATA
American Thyroid Association
ATS
American Thoracic Society
AUA
American Urological Association
BMA
British Medical Association
CAP
College of American Pathologists
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CMA
Canadian Medical Association
CMS
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
CNS
Child Neurology Society
CSE
Council of Science Editors
DHHS
Department of Health and Human Services
EASE
European Association of Science Editors
ECDC
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
ECFMG
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
EEOC
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EIS
Epidemic Intelligence Service (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
EU
European Union
FASEB
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
FCC
Federal Communications Commission
FDA
Food and Drug Administration
FTC
Federal Trade Commission
GLMA
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
GSA
Gerontological Society of America
IARC
International Agency for Research on Cancer
ICAAC
Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
ICMJE
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
ICN
International Council of Nurses
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
ICS
International College of Surgeons
IDSA
Infectious Diseases Society of America
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IOM
Institute of Medicine
IPPNW
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
ISBT
International Society of Blood Transfusion
ISO
International Organization for Standardization
JCAHO
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
MGMA
Medical Group Management Association
MLA
Medical Library Association
MRC
Medical Research Council
MSF
Médecins Sans Frontières
NAME
National Association of Medical Examiners
NAMS
North American Menopause Society
NAS
National Academy of Sciences
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NBME
National Board of Medical Examiners
NCBI
National Center for Biotechnology Information
NCCAM
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
NCHS
National Center for Health Statistics
NCI
National Cancer Institute
NCOA
National Committee on Quality Assurance
NCRR
National Center for Research Resources
NEI
National Eye Institute
NHGRI
National Human Genome Research Institute
NHLBI
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
NHO
National Hospice Organization
NIA
National Institute on Aging
NIAAA
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
NIAID
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIAMS
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
NIBIB
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NICHD
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIDA
National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIDCD
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NIDCR
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
NIDDK
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
NIEHS
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIGMS
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIH
National Institutes of Health
NIMH
National Institute of Mental Health
NINDS
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NINR
National Institute of Nursing Research
NIOSH
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NISO
National Information Standards Organization
NLM
National Library of Medicine
NLN
National League for Nursing
NMA
National Medical Association
NMHA
National Mental Health Association
NRC
National Research Council
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRMP
National Resident Matching Program
NSF
National Science Foundation
NSPB
National Society for the Prevention of Blindness
OMAR
Office of Medical Applications of Research
ONS
Oncology Nursing Society
OPRR
Office for Protection From Research Risks
ORI
Office of Research Integrity
ORWH
Office of Research on Women’s Health
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
PAHO
Pan American Health Organization
PHR
Physicians for Human Rights
PHS
Public Health Service
PSR
Physicians for Social Responsibility
PSRO
Professional Standards Review Organization
RDCRN
Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network
RPB
Research to Prevent Blindness
RSNA
Radiological Society of North America
Rehabilitation Society of North America
SAMBA
Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia
SAMHSA
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
SCCM
Society of Critical Care Medicine
SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission
SID
Society for Investigative Dermatology
SMCAF
Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces
SNM
Society of Nuclear Medicine
SSA
Social Security Administration
SSO
Society of Surgical Oncology
SSP
Society for Scholarly Publishing
STC
Society for Technical Communication
STS
Society of Thoracic Surgeons
UICC
International Union Against Cancer (Union Internationale Contre le Cancer)
UN
United Nations
UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF
United Nations Children’s Fund
UNOS
United Network for Organ Sharing
USAN
United States Adopted Names [Council]
VA
Department of Veterans Affairs
WAME
World Association of Medical Editors
WFP
World Food Program
WHO
World Health Organization
WIC
Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children
WMA
World Medical Association
For more detailed listings of US and international agencies and associations, consult the current editions of The Official American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists, The United States Government Manual, Federal Yellow Book, Congressional Yellow Book, Encyclopedia of Associations, Directory of European Medical Organisations, Directory of European Professional & Learned Societies, Civil Service Yearbook, The Medical Registry, and The World of Learning.
There are thousands of directories of websites, ranging from the official (eg, US Executive Branch websites at http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/fedgov.html) to commercial, private, and nonprofit (eg, http://directory.google.com/).