Difference between Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacology is the umbrella branch of science that deals with drugs and related medication actions. All sorts of mechanism of actions, caused by both artificial, natural, and endogenous drugs on living beings are covered under this subject. Pharmacology is subdivided into pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. A student of pharmacology is taught about the origin and composition of drugs, the therapeutic use of singular or compositional drugs, as well as toxicology.  

To understand the difference between Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, you need to have a great deal of understanding about the individual concepts, areas of functionality, definitions, career prospects, etc. Let's come across pharmacodynamics first. This branch of science deals with the physiologic and biochemical effects of pharmaceutical drugs. It is the extensive study of the effects of drugs on the body. Drug interactions, more precisely the dose- response relationships, concentration of drugs, application, and effects, are covered in this subject. It has to be noted that, this subject is not limited to the use of drugs in clinical cases only. All clinical and advanced responses of drugs help in understanding the evolutionary nature of the organism. Having expertise in pharmacodynamic evolution helps you in drug development, make accurate clinical assessments, optimize dosage of drugs, assess the nature of new agents correctly, and set and confirm susceptibility breakpoints. 

Pharmacokinetics is the study of the how the body interacts and responds to the drugs. This aspect of pharmacology greatly deals with the ADME properties, i.e., Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion. It also includes a comprehensive understanding of route of administration of the drugs, thereby affecting the potency and efficacy of the drug. You are provided with extensive knowledge of highly important topics such as drug dosage, its effect on the body, bioavailability, first pass metabolism, clearance, drug excretion, steady state and much more.

In simple words, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics aims to explore the actions of drugs, drug potency and therapeutic effects of the drugs. The subject extensively deals with the effect of drugs on biochemical pathways and the resultant physiological responses of organisms on whom that drug is tested.

Career Profiles Associated with a Degree in Pharmacology

The study of Pharmacology (Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics) paves the way to the following career profiles:

Community pharmacist, Biomedical scientist, Medical sales representative, Officer of regulatory affairs, Scientific laboratory technician, Lecturer or professor, Toxicologist, Immunological scientist, Medical science liaison supervisor, Analytical chemist, Medical writer, Pharmaceutical researcher, etc.

You also have an option to pursue research at pharmacology and toxicology laboratories, clinical research institutions, be a part of drug development and regulatory affairs, explore careers in pharmacogenomics, associate with pharmacovigilance and drug safety, work with hospitals and research settings to optimize drug therapies, and become a consultant in healthcare analytics.

However, it must be noted that you can pursue a career in pharmacology only after having a solid foundation in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. A good online pharmacology course can help you to a great extent in mastering the complex drug metabolism of the drug universe. There are renowned medical learning platforms with their medical learning apps. It would be better if you refer to a medical learning app that is part of a renowned medical publisher. The app provides courses of different levels, like undergraduate, postgraduate, and courses on subspecialties of pharmacology, to medical students, healthcare professionals, and practicing doctors. Make sure to take a trial and analyze the learning material shared before subscribing to such courses. The best pharmacology courses usually have their offerings clearly mentioned in advertorials. Therefore, if an aspirant wants to compare the courses, referring to the particulars would make this task easy. 

Another effective way to understand the differences between Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is to take high quality Pharmacology video lectures and consult with the gold standard faculty of the Pharmacology online learning course. An aspirant can put forward his or her doubts, concerns, and queries and get correct answers from the faculty.