A practical CPD module for clinicians working in urgent, emergency, primary and front door care. Learn how to interpret U&Es, recognise AKI, identify electrolyte risk, apply sick day rules, review prescribing decisions and safety-net patients appropriately.
U&Es are requested every day in urgent, emergency and primary care — but knowing how to act on them safely is where the real clinical decision-making begins.
This practical CPD module is designed to help clinicians move beyond simply checking whether a result is “normal” or “abnormal”. Instead, it focuses on how U&E results should influence your assessment, escalation, prescribing decisions, safety-netting and follow-up planning in front door practice.
Whether you are working in urgent treatment centres, emergency departments, same-day emergency care, primary care, ambulance services or community-facing urgent care, this module will help you build a safer and more structured approach to renal function and electrolyte interpretation.
What this module covers
In this module, we work through a practical approach to interpreting U&Es in clinical context, including:
- How to read a U&E panel systematically
- Creatinine, eGFR and urea interpretation
- Why baseline renal function matters
- Recognition and staging of acute kidney injury
- Pre-renal, intrinsic and post-renal causes of AKI
- Hyperkalaemia and when it becomes urgent
- Hyponatraemia and the importance of clinical context
- Prescribing decisions in renal impairment
- Sick day rules and medication review
- When to withhold or review common medications
- How to use U&Es alongside FBC, CRP, observations and clinical assessment
- Safety-netting and follow-up planning for abnormal U&Es
Why this module matters
A patient presents with vague symptoms: nausea, lethargy, reduced oral intake, dizziness or feeling generally unwell.
The bloods return:
- Sodium is low
- Potassium is raised
- Urea and creatinine are abnormal
- eGFR is reduced
Now what?
Is this AKI?
How severe is it?
Is the potassium dangerous?
What medications need reviewing?
Can this patient safely go home?
When should bloods be repeated?
Who needs to review the result?
This module is built around those real front door decisions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Interpret a U&E panel using a structured clinical approach.
- Recognise and stage AKI using NICE/KDIGO principles.
- Identify electrolyte abnormalities that require urgent action.
- Apply U&E results to safer prescribing and medication review.
- Use sick day rules appropriately in acutely unwell patients.
- Safety-net and escalate patients appropriately from the front door.
Who is this module for?
This module is suitable for:
- Student paramedics
- Newly qualified paramedics
- Paramedics
- Nurses
- Urgent care clinicians
- Emergency department clinicians
- Primary care clinicians
- Advanced Clinical Practitioners
- Non-medical prescribers
- Clinicians developing confidence with blood interpretation
It is particularly useful for clinicians working in front door, urgent care, primary care, ED, SDEC, UTC, ambulance or community assessment settings.
What is included?
This module includes:
- Teaching video
- Downloadable slide deck
- U&E quick reference guide
- Case-based learning worksheet
- MCQ knowledge check
- Reflection prompts for CPD evidence
- Certificate of completion
Approximate learning time
60–90 minutes.
Clinical focus
This module is not about memorising numbers in isolation.
It is about using U&Es to answer the questions clinicians actually need to answer:
- What is happening?
- Is this acute or chronic?
- What is the likely cause?
- What is the risk?
- What medications need reviewing?
- Can this patient go home?
- What follow-up is needed?
- When should I escalate?
The aim is to help you interpret U&Es as part of the wider clinical picture — not as a standalone result.
Key message
U&Es are not just “routine bloods”.
They are clinical risk signals.
They can help identify dehydration, AKI, sepsis-related deterioration, medication harm, electrolyte risk and patients who need closer follow-up or urgent escalation.
This module gives you a structured, practical way to interpret those results and act on them safely.
Disclaimer
This module is designed for education, CPD and reflective learning. It does not replace local guidelines, prescribing policies, escalation pathways, senior clinical advice or individual clinical judgement. Always interpret results in the context of the full clinical picture and follow your local policy.