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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.
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...
futurenursling
28 Posts
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?