A client receives a prescription for 1 liter of lactated Ringer’s intravenously (IV) to be infused over 8 hours. The IV administration set delivers 15 gtt/mL. How many mL/hr should the nurse program the infusion pump to deliver?

Step 1 is to convert the volume of the prescription from liters to milliliters. 1 liter is equal to 1000 mL. So, the prescription is for 1000 mL of lactated Ringer’s. Step 2 is to divide the total volume by the total time. The prescription is to be infused over 8 hours. So, 1000 mL ÷ 8 hours = 125 mL/hr. Therefore, the nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver 125 mL/hr.