Stethescope & Blood Pressure Monitor

I'm wondering about this too. My school has told us that we can buy the Cardiology III stethoscopes for about $75CDN from a certain company, but should I get a Littmann anyway?

I've heard that Littmanns do have unparalleled quality in their stethoscopes, but is there that much difference to warrant the huge difference in price?

I purchased a Littmann II Classic and it is way better than the cheaper stethoscopes at the uniform stores. It would be a great investment.

I had the same issue last year and ended up getting the Littmann Cardiology III for about 180$CDN. It is absolutely great - I love it! I have never had a problem with it. We were told by our clinical instructor that by hanging it around your neck the oils from your skin tend to make it stiff so I bought a stethescope cover for mine and it works really well. I was told not to get the Cardio III because it's heavier/it'll make your neck sore etc...but I have never had a problem and really? It's not that much heavier...I love it, and because I got that one first I'm hoping I won't have to replace it for a while. Almost all of my classmates bought the Classic II and that one is really good as well - it's a little lighter and comes in colours that are much more fun In our program we needed at LEAST the Classic II.

In terms of a BP cuff, I bought a general peice of crap one just to have to practice at home. They have wall mounted ones at labs so I only used it to practice before exams. Half the time, clinical settings have the electronic ones and you don't even do a manual BP. It was nice to have one just to practice but I wouldn't reccomend getting a pricey one unless your clinical proff says you need it to take to clinicals with you.

Good luck

To Browning20 - there really is a huge difference in quality. Half the stethescopes sold in other stores don't even have the bell on them which makes it hard for extra heart sounds because it's different amounts of pressure that allow you to hear different frequencies of sound. The others aren't great quality and you end up replacing them quite a bit - I found it more cost efficient and beneficial to just buy the best one up front and have it for a while.

Welcome to allnurses.com !!!

As a person beginning nursing school, I'm not sure you need to spend $$$$ on a Littman Cardiology stethoscope (just my opinion). The better the scope, the higher the likelihood it will grow legs & wander away to a new home.

A Littman Classic II or Classic II SE would probably do the job nicely. I see lots of nurses continuing to use a Sprague Rappaport type scope, which is inexpensive & does the job (but usually comes with painful earpieces).

Another option to the name brand ($$$) Littman scope is to go with a Littman clone. I used a clone for years on medic duty, and it worked just fine. A nurse I was shadowing today in the ICU was using a Kila clone of the Littman Cardiology scope (~$28). For the Kila scopes, see:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Kila-Car...434395&sr=8-13

http://www.amazon.com/SPECIALIST-Sin...9434395&sr=8-5

Right now, I'm using a GRX Medical CD29 scope - a clone of the Littman Cardiology III. It's worked very well for me, and costs ~$37. See:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CARDIOLOGY-STETH...d=p3286.c0.m14

You probably do not need a blood pressure "machine." Those are usually battery powered - you attach the cuff, press a button, and the machine takes it from there. What you may need is a MANUAL BP cuff, without an attached stethoscope. That way, you get practice in doing BPs manually - pumping the cuff up, slowly dropping the pressure while listening for the thump-thump-thump through your stethoscope. Unless it's required in your program, you might just want to practice using the manual cuffs that are bound to be available at your school & on the hospital floors (when you do clinicals). I'm not sure you'd use your own cuff that much unless you get in the habit of checking BPs on your friends & family.

GO to allheart.com, i would suggest investing in a decent stethoscope as it will be with you for a while. As for a BP cuff, econo is ok. The baseline Allheart one will do for all you would need it for. put your name on EVERYTHING. And be ware of lending, i loaned my Littmann to a classmate to asses her son's lung sounds @ home and i never got it back. Some Docs are bad about borrowing too and forgetting to return.

Many facilities no longer allow steth covers due to infection control issues. I wear mock-turtlenecks under my scrubs so that my steth doesn't touch my skin.

As to which steth to buy: I vote Littmann cardiology III or one of the other cheaper Littmanns. There is a difference between Littmann's and other cheaper brands.

Good luck in school.

Personally i would go with a Littman Classic 2 SE. Thats what we were recomended and i havent heard anyone complain about it. I ordered mine off medisave.net and got my name engraved on the bell for free. If you do order online i would avoid allheart.com ive heard nothing but bad things about that company.