For students & colleagues

A working library for primary care.

Resources I share during rotations and with fellow clinicians—selected for practical usefulness, not completeness.

Reference shelf

Clinical resources

01

AI & large language models

02

Clinical calculators & decision support

03

Guidelines & core references

04

Pharmacy, vaccines & travel

05

Mental health & substance use

06

Pediatrics & family health

07

Women's & reproductive health

08

Geriatrics & community resources

Quick reference

Lab pearls

Useful first-pass calculations—signals, not diagnoses. Verify formulas and interpret them in the full clinical context.

BUN/creatinine

>20:1 may support upper GI bleeding or a prerenal pattern; interpret in clinical context.

Mentzer index

MCV ÷ RBC count: <13 supports thalassemia trait; >13 supports iron deficiency.

Albumin:globulin ratio

Albumin ÷ (total protein − albumin); an inverted ratio or large globulin gap warrants context and possible monoclonal-protein testing.

Corrected sodium

Measured Na + 1.6 × (glucose − 100)/100; consider 2.4 at very high glucose.

Corrected calcium

Measured Ca + 0.8 × (4 − albumin); use ionized calcium when accuracy matters.

Albumin-corrected anion gap

AG + 2.5 for each 1 g/dL albumin below 4.

FENa / FEUrea

FENa <1% or FEUrea <35% can support a prerenal pattern; diuretics and CKD limit interpretation.

Often referenced

Articles worth knowing

01

Clinical Problems Caused by Obesity

Read ↗
02

Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease

Read ↗
03

Serial Bone-Density Measurement for Osteoporosis Screening

Read ↗
04

SELECT: Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity

Read ↗
05

SURMOUNT-1: Tirzepatide Once Weekly for Obesity

Read ↗
06

FLOW: Semaglutide in CKD with Type 2 Diabetes

Read ↗

Rotation essentials

Epic basics

Pre-chart; do not start the visit

Prepare agenda items, likely orders, prior history, and care gaps in advance. Never start the encounter before the patient arrives.

Keep the problem list meaningful

Merge duplicates, resolve inactive problems, reject noise, and distinguish longitudinal problems from diagnoses addressed today.

Use search before hunting

Alt + Space opens Epic search. Use it for activities, orders, calculators, and trends. Let suggestions populate before pressing Enter.

Build your documentation toolkit

Use Smart Butler (.?) to find SmartPhrases, SmartText, and SmartLinks. Copy useful phrases, then revise them into your own voice.

Document HCCs honestly

MEAT what you address: Monitor, Evaluate, Assess/Address, or Treat. A diagnosis on a list is not adequate support by itself.

Order with collection in mind

Confirm clinic-collect versus lab-collect settings, future dates, available point-of-care tests, and local vaccine workflows.

Local configuration changes. Use current organizational job aids and ask the clinical team when a workflow is uncertain.

UMass-specific

Programs to know

01

Digital Health & RPM

Connected monitoring and coaching through the Digital Health workflow, including hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, and weight management.

Brook Health ↗
02

Advanced Therapeutics / 340B

Medication-access pathways may help eligible patients obtain high-cost therapies. Eligibility and payer rules vary.

HRSA overview ↗
03

Complex Care & legal support

Care management may address transport, food, housing, utilities, benefits, and health-related civil legal needs.

Findhelp ↗
04

CommunityHelp

Massachusetts resource navigation by ZIP code and need, with clinician referral capabilities.

CommunityHelp ↗

This page is an informal learning aid, not an official UMass Memorial policy or workflow document. Verify current eligibility and referral steps in Epic or with the responsible team.

Use your clinical judgment.

External tools, calculators, AI systems, and summaries can be incomplete or wrong. Do not enter identifiable patient information into a tool unless its approved privacy and security status is clear.