All about the bling...

[Brian]

Many Nurses place charms, coverings, and other ornaments on their stethoscopes. It may be a good way to individualize your instrument and possibly reduce the chances of it getting lost. But, maybe you don't know if it is o.k. with your employer. Is it appropriate, problematic, safe? Hospital policy/procedure should address this. How many of you place bling on your stethoscope?

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[ilikesharpthings]

I have a red allergy armband wrapped around it so I can tell mine from others.

I have the pink restricted limb band on mine!

[Anna S, RN]

I have a stethoscope ring with aurora borealis crystals on my scope- and I'm an older nurse. :)

[OCNRN63, RN]

I used to hang a roll of tape on my scope. That tape came in soooooo handy at times.

I used an IV extension set (the small one) and hung my tape from that, then attached it to the stethoscope.

[Nonyvole, BSN, RN]

I used an IV extension set (the small one) and hung my tape from that, then attached it to the stethoscope.

Ooh! I'm going to have to do that! Thanks!

As for the original question: I don't put anything on my stethoscope. It has my name printed on the tube, and I'm the only one in my unit with that particular make/model/color. I do leave it at the desk, and if it wanders off, well, there is a finite list of people that I have to track down. (Always a doctor, for some reason. But they're good about giving it back.)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Ooh! I'm going to have to do that! Thanks!

As for the original question: I don't put anything on my stethoscope. It has my name printed on the tube, and I'm the only one in my unit with that particular make/model/color. I do leave it at the desk, and if it wanders off, well, there is a finite list of people that I have to track down. (Always a doctor, for some reason. But they're good about giving it back.)

I once went on a field trip c our practice's hospitalist and noticed that he had like six or eight stethoscopes on the floor in the back seat. He said they were the ones he borrowed and never gave back. Most of them had some sort of ID on them. I whacked him on the arm.

This is why I always put my name on the INSIDE of the diaphragm (write backwards, so when you put it back in place it's legible and you can alcohol-clean it without removing the writing). I also used to hang my pen from the crossbar, using an old IV tubing with a latex flash-bulb stretched over the end of the pen. The tubing was long enough to keep the pen in my pocket...and long enough that I ALWAYS got it back if I lent it to a doc seeing one of my patients.

[ponymom]

You lent your pen to a doc, you're braver than me LOL.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

I have a cardiology III as well. Had my name engraved on the bell. I don't let anyone borrow it. Who wants someones icky earwax on their earpieces?