best stethoscope

Hi All

I am about to make the purchase of a new stethoscope, I have not had one before & was wondering if any of you could give me advice on the best ones for making nurse assessments:uhoh3: . I am making the move from the UK to LA, & here in the UK nurses don't use stetoscopes on a regular basis so do not own their own. I have read that it is part of the nursing assessment to listen to chest sounds each shift in the US so I thought I better buy one & start practicing:nurse: many thanks ukrn2ca

There is no one "best" stethoscope, its what works for you. Some people can use a 12dollar sprague stethoscope and be fine with that. Others require the more expensive cardiology stethoscopes to actually hear breath and heart sounds.

Personally, I have a 50% Littmann Lightweight sthetoscope that works for me. But thats just me- it doesnt work well for everyone.

I'd recommend testing out a few kinds and seeing which one works best for you. Also, try doing a thread search on stethoscopes. This question has been asked many times before and you may get some good advice from old threads.

I have a personally engraved stethoscope from littmann. I wouldn't trade it for the world. My coworkers are always asking me to use it when they have a very hard to hear BP. I would go for a littmann time and time again. It doesn't have to be the most expensive one either. I have the second cheapest one (no double bell) but it allows you just by pressing harder to hear exactly what you'd hear if you had a double head. With engraving it cost about $35.00 from allheart.com (I think).

Hope this helps

Thanks for the advice you have both been helpful:bow:

will also check threads as you suggested.

ukrn2ca

Hi All

I am about to make the purchase of a new stethoscope, I have not had one before & was wondering if any of you could give me advice on the best ones for making nurse assessments:uhoh3: . I am making the move from the UK to LA, & here in the UK nurses don't use stetoscopes on a regular basis so do not own their own. I have read that it is part of the nursing assessment to listen to chest sounds each shift in the US so I thought I better buy one & start practicing:nurse: many thanks ukrn2ca

I have a Littman Cardiologist III and I love it. I figured I wanted to invest in a really good stethoscope because I use it all the time with my patients. I also tried using some of the other brands (cheaper), but I couldn't hear very well. I got a "name tag" so it doesn't "walk off" and I wear it around my neck while I'm on shift. If you can go to a medical supplies store in the UK and try out their stethoscopes, that would be an excellent way to determine what stethoscope is right for you. Welcome to the US!

Thanks for the advice and the welcome, I should arrive in the next 3 months :w00t:

i agree the littmann III is the best i have twisted and turned and abused it and it still sounds great. if you are willing to invest the $$$ it is worth it.