Littmann Cardiology III - Worth it?

[futurenursling]

I have been offered a Littmann Cardiology III (or IV-my choice) as a gift. I am a student. I have heard that the Cardiology models are great, but a little difficult to learn on, since you can hear so many sounds that you don't necessarily know about as a beginner student. Can anyone shed some light on this? Because it's a gift, the price does not matter to me, so if it's just a price thing, I will stick with the better model, but if there are reasons to go with the lower model (the Classic III), I would love to hear them.

Also, I've heard a lot about "stethoscope theft" at the hospitals, and that they love to "grow legs and walk away." Any insights on preventing that?

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

Totally worth it. Actually the opposite is true. You can hear what you need to hear. You will know what a murmur sounds like. You will be able to hear the difference in lung sounds. Those are things you should be learning as a student. Why would somebody tell you any different?

Many of my classmates borrowed mine to hear the things that I could hear with my cardiology III. As for theft, I have a bright color combo and my name engraved on it. Nobody could walk off with it and then try to use it later on my unit. It's that original.

[dorkypanda]

I would say go for it. my sibling got a used good condition cardio III and he says the sound quality is nice. He played around with my classic II se and he says that he preferred cardio III.

[3peas]

Totally worth it!

[Xlorgguss]

Go for it! As for making sure it doesn't grow legs try a stethoscope clip or an obnoxious color. The cardio 4's don't have the same color options since its the newest model.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

As stethoscopes go, either one is a very good choice. Given that you're getting this as a gift, choose the one that fits your needs best. I have a Cardiology III that I've had for about 15 years and I use it every day at work. If you were buying this for yourself, and being a student, I would usually recommend something more like a Littmann Classic II SE. Basically that's your middle-of-the-road steth that does basically everything you need it to do generally well while being mostly budget-friendly. One of those was my go-to for about 5 years.

The reason I do suggest people learn on a Classic II-type is that they're not so good that you can't hear what you need if you have to use a $5 disposable steth (those are horrible) but good enough that you learn what to listen to. My ears are decently well trained and I can easily use a very cheap unit if I need to and I very much appreciate the excellent sound quality that I get from my more high-end steth.

While it's not ideal, I can usually hear what I need to even if it's through a (relatively thin) blanket or most types of clothing when using my good steth. I don't recommend that new people try to do this because there's a LOT of artifact that gets introduced and until you learn what to listen for, you can't easily "filter out" that artifact. My experience base includes quite a few years of doing assessments in the back of an ambulance while going down the road, sometimes with the siren going. That's a very noisy environment...

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

If this is a gift, just get the Cardiology IV. I have both the III and the IV and not too much of a difference. However, seeing as how you are not paying this yourself, you might as well get the best of the cardiology series (that has both the bell and diaphragm).

[PANYNP]

Auscultation done through blankets or clothing is less than ideal. An individual who does this would fail that part of my advanced physical assessment course.

Our patients deserve our best skills put to use.

Just saying.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Cardiology III is a great stethoscope