A nurse is preparing to administer clonidine 0.3 mg at bedtime to a client. The amount available is clonidine 0.1 mg/tablet. How many tablets should the nurse administer per dose? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

To determine the correct number of tablets, apply the standard dosage calculation formula: desired dose divided by the dose available per tablet. The prescribed dose is 0.3 mg of clonidine, and the available tablet strength is 0.1 mg per tablet. The calculation is 0.3 mg ÷ 0.1 mg/tablet = 3 tablets. Therefore, the nurse should administer 3 tablets to deliver the ordered 0.3 mg dose. A potential error students encounter with decimal doses is misaligning the decimal points; for example, incorrectly reading 0.3 as 3 or 0.1 as 1, which could lead to a tenfold dosing error. Using a leading zero before decimal values — as in 0.3 and 0.1 — is a safety standard that helps prevent misreading. No trailing zero is needed because the result is a whole number. Clonidine is an antihypertensive medication, and administering the correct dose is especially important because both underdosing and overdosing carry significant clinical consequences including inadequate blood pressure control or dangerous hypotension and bradycardia. Systematic verification of dose, drug, route, and formulation before administration is an essential nursing practice to reduce medication errors.