A nurse is preparing to administer dextrose 5% in water 350 mL IV to infuse over 3 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt/mL. The nurse should set the manual IV infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

To calculate the manual IV drip rate (gtt/min), use this formula: Drip rate = Total volume (mL) × Drop factor (gtt/mL)/Time (min) Given: Total volume = 350 mL Drop factor = 10 gtt/mL Time = 3 hours → Convert to minutes → 3 × 60 = 180 minutes Drip rate = 350 × 10/ 180 = 3500/180 = ≈19.4 gtt/min Rounded to the nearest whole number: 19 gtt/min