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Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Version 1.0
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Understanding Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics

This course explains how receptor activity, dose-response relationships, and patient-specific factors determine medication effects. Learners connect these principles to bedside assessment, titration, monitoring, and prevention of adverse drug events.

Registered nurse reviewing a medication administration record, renal and hepatic laboratory trends, infusion history, and bedside vital signs before administering medication.
Contact hours
6
Format
Self-paced, online
Last reviewed
Sep 19, 2026

$29.99or included with All-Access

$5 per contact hour · 6 contact hours

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  • No post-test required · unlimited retakes · evaluation and attestation always required

Course Purpose

This course explains how receptor activity, dose-response relationships, and patient-specific factors determine medication effects. Learners connect these principles to bedside assessment, titration, monitoring, and prevention of adverse drug events.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 6 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

This course explains how receptor activity, dose-response relationships, and patient-specific factors determine medication effects. Learners connect these principles to bedside assessment, titration, monitoring, and prevention of adverse drug events. After completing the course, nurses will be able to anticipate how absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion alter drug exposure; recognize patients at risk for accumulation or treatment failure; and communicate clinically significant findings to the prescribing and pharmacy teams.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

  1. Differentiate pharmacodynamics from pharmacokinetics using clinically relevant medication examples.
  2. Interpret graded and quantal dose-response relationships, including potency, efficacy, ED50, and therapeutic index.
  3. Explain how absorption, bioavailability, distribution, protein binding, metabolism, clearance, and half-life influence medication response.
  4. Predict how age, organ dysfunction, genetics, route of administration, and drug interactions may alter medication exposure.
  5. Apply pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles to medication assessment, administration, monitoring, and escalation of care.
  6. Identify nursing actions that reduce preventable toxicity, accumulation, therapeutic failure, and withdrawal effects.

Policy Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the policies of FastCEForLess.com. This course should be used for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose, treat, prescribe, recommend, or initiate therapies or treatments in any setting. This course is copyrighted by Fast CE For Less, Inc. and may not be replicated, copied, or dispersed without written consent.

Disclosures

Fast CE For Less, Inc. and its authors have no disclosures. There is no commercial support.

Who this course is for:

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and other healthcare providers in any setting who want continuing education on Understanding Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics.

Course outline

24 sections · finish in any order across devices

  1. 1

    Pharmacodynamics

  2. 2

    Drug Receptors

  3. 3

    Receptor Classifications

  4. 4

    Receptor Theory

  5. 5

    Drug Response Equation

  6. 6

    Desensitization

  7. 7

    Drug Response Curves

  8. 8

    Graded Dose Response Curve

  9. 9

    Quantal Dose Response Curve

  10. 10

    Drug Receptor Interactions

  11. 11

    Pharmacokinetics

  12. 12

    Molecular Size

  13. 13

    Lipid Solubility and Degree of Ionization

  14. 14

    Protein Binding

  15. 15

    Absorption

  16. 16

    Bioavailability

  17. 17

    Compartment Models

  18. 18

    Volume of Distribution

  19. 19

    Plasma Concentration Curve

  20. 20

    Steady State

  21. 21

    Metabolism

  22. 22

    Elimination Half-Life

  23. 23

    Clearance

  24. 24

    Conclusion

References

The full reference list is included inside the course, after the Conclusion.

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