The nurse has an order to give 1,000 mL of 0.9% NS with 20 meQ of potassium chloride over 8 hours. The IV set has a drop factor of 15. How many gtts/min should the client receive?

The client should receive 32 gtts/min.

Solve using the formula: (volume (mL) × drop factor (gtts))/time (min) = flow rate in gtts/min. Convert hours to minutes: 8 × 60 = 480 min Input into formula and solve: (1000 mL × 15 gtts)/480 min. 15,000/480 = 31.25 Round up to find gtts/min: = 32 gtts/min.