Stethoscope Question

Nursing Students General Students

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Okay, I'm dumb, but I really didn't know that there are as many stethoscopes out there as there are. Any thoughts on which are best for student nurses (or any nurse for that matter)? ANY help would be greatly appreciated! :uhoh3:

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Specializes in Urgent Care.

I find the sprague stethescopes heavy. I have a littman lightweight.

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I have a Littman Master Classic II and love it. It was expensive but I plan on keeping it throughout school and when I become an RN. I can hear everything!!!!

One of my classmates has a cool steth. that she bought at the uniform shop. You can mix and match the ear pieces with the actual head of the steth. The heads have designs and pictures in them and all you have to do is twist them off to replace it with a different design. Kind of a cool thing, especially if you were going into Peds. She says you can hear a heart beat through a winter jacket with it.

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I have a Littman Master Classic II and love it. It was expensive but I plan on keeping it throughout school and when I become an RN. I can hear everything!!!!

One of my classmates has a cool steth. that she bought at the uniform shop. You can mix and match the ear pieces with the actual head of the steth. The heads have designs and pictures in them and all you have to do is twist them off to replace it with a different design. Kind of a cool thing, especially if you were going into Peds. She says you can hear a heart beat through a winter jacket with it.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I have a Littmann Lightweight II S.E. I like the teardrop shape very much.

Someday when I have about 300 bucks to spare (right .....) I'd love to get one of the really nice cardiology ones. But my $36 one is working fine for now.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I have a Littmann Lightweight II S.E. I like the teardrop shape very much.

Someday when I have about 300 bucks to spare (right .....) I'd love to get one of the really nice cardiology ones. But my $36 one is working fine for now.

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Specializes in ER.
I find the sprague stethescopes heavy. I have a littman lightweight.

Same here. I started out with a sprague, but couldn't hack carrying that thing around all day. That big hunk of metal banging against my chest while I was working drove me nuts and made my chest sore!

I also bought a Littman Lightweight and LOVE it! Relatively inexpensive, lightweight, and works great!

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Specializes in ER.
I find the sprague stethescopes heavy. I have a littman lightweight.

Same here. I started out with a sprague, but couldn't hack carrying that thing around all day. That big hunk of metal banging against my chest while I was working drove me nuts and made my chest sore!

I also bought a Littman Lightweight and LOVE it! Relatively inexpensive, lightweight, and works great!

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My favorite stethoscopes are the ones by DRG (Doctors Research Group). I have their Pure Tone Traditional (for adults), the Pure Tone Pediatric and the Pure Tone Infant Stethoscopes. I find DRG's to be better quality than Littmans.

I'm a Registered Respiratory Therapist w/ 19 years experience (primarily Neonatal/Peds) so I'm pretty selective when it comes to stethoscopes.

Linda

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My favorite stethoscopes are the ones by DRG (Doctors Research Group). I have their Pure Tone Traditional (for adults), the Pure Tone Pediatric and the Pure Tone Infant Stethoscopes. I find DRG's to be better quality than Littmans.

I'm a Registered Respiratory Therapist w/ 19 years experience (primarily Neonatal/Peds) so I'm pretty selective when it comes to stethoscopes.

Linda

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I bought a cheap scope that our instructor said was good for the money. The thing was basically that CHEAP. I couldnt hear a darn thing well enough to decipher what lung sounds i was hearing. I just invested in a littmann cardiology III and it is by far the best out there to hear anything. If I were you I would if possible try others scopes out. If you want to buy a cheap one do so, but know that you might not be completely happy with it. Get a cheap one now and then while in the hospital try other classmates or nurses scopes and you can decide which you want to invest in. I couldnt afford this scope at first but Im glad I invested in it. Had I known how much better it was I wouldnt have wasted my time with the other. Its all in personal prefferance. I got mine for a little better than retail price on a site. I am not supposed to place the site here but if you PM me I can tell you. But if you put in a seach engine you will find my scope usually retails for 160-180, I got mine for 117.

If you want to find the site yourself go look up cheap stethascopes in your search engine. You can also get on ebay, but sometimes its hard to trust someone there with all your money and after shipping it may not be worth it.

I also invested and had mine personalized, would hate to see some DR. or nurse grab my scope and think it is thiers. You can buy those little ID badges for them too but those are easily removed.

The point is this, nursing is going to be your career, so invest wisely in something you know you want to use, and works best for you. Any littmann is good, but I wanted the best. Mine also has a ped's side to it and is a good cardiology scope as well. Acustics are everything.

:nurse:

Okay, I'm dumb, but I really didn't know that there are as many stethoscopes out there as there are. Any thoughts on which are best for student nurses (or any nurse for that matter)? ANY help would be greatly appreciated! :uhoh3:
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I bought a cheap scope that our instructor said was good for the money. The thing was basically that CHEAP. I couldnt hear a darn thing well enough to decipher what lung sounds i was hearing. I just invested in a littmann cardiology III and it is by far the best out there to hear anything. If I were you I would if possible try others scopes out. If you want to buy a cheap one do so, but know that you might not be completely happy with it. Get a cheap one now and then while in the hospital try other classmates or nurses scopes and you can decide which you want to invest in. I couldnt afford this scope at first but Im glad I invested in it. Had I known how much better it was I wouldnt have wasted my time with the other. Its all in personal prefferance. I got mine for a little better than retail price on a site. I am not supposed to place the site here but if you PM me I can tell you. But if you put in a seach engine you will find my scope usually retails for 160-180, I got mine for 117.

If you want to find the site yourself go look up cheap stethascopes in your search engine. You can also get on ebay, but sometimes its hard to trust someone there with all your money and after shipping it may not be worth it.

I also invested and had mine personalized, would hate to see some DR. or nurse grab my scope and think it is thiers. You can buy those little ID badges for them too but those are easily removed.

The point is this, nursing is going to be your career, so invest wisely in something you know you want to use, and works best for you. Any littmann is good, but I wanted the best. Mine also has a ped's side to it and is a good cardiology scope as well. Acustics are everything.

:nurse:

Okay, I'm dumb, but I really didn't know that there are as many stethoscopes out there as there are. Any thoughts on which are best for student nurses (or any nurse for that matter)? ANY help would be greatly appreciated! :uhoh3:
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