The physician orders 1000 mL Lactated Ringer's to infuse at 125 mL/hr for a postoperative patient. Tubing drop factor is 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the flow rate in drops per minute.

Step 1: convert the hourly rate to a minute rate: 125 mL ÷ 60 min = 2.083 mL/min. Step 2: multiply the minute rate by the drop factor: 2.083 mL/min × 20 gtt/mL = 41.66 gtt/min. Step 3 is to round the final answer to the nearest whole number: 42 gtt/min.