New Nursing School Student...HELP!

aromarn · Aug 29, 2009

Any of nursing uniform stores will do, I have Littmann brand for stethoscope , it was $59.99, but they also have the same brand but even more expensive. For a nursing student this one is excellent. I initially bought the $20 dtethoscope one, but it fail me big time, the metal clip keep coming off. But I was shocked how I heard clear on the littmann!! Anyway, for books, I use amazon.com, I get the ones who had 95% or more good review!!

shrimpchips, LPN · Aug 29, 2009

Definitely agree on the uniform stores...or even go to local hospitals because they usually have stores on the premises that sells scrubs and nursing supplies. I didn't have to buy a BP cuff - if we needed them we just borrowed them from our lab. The penlight and bandage scissors and other misc. things were bought from a uniform store. My stethoscope is a Littmann, and honestly, I wouldn't settle for anything less than a Littmann. There are different models to choose from with a wide variety of prices. Mine is a Classic II S.E. which I purchased for $74.93 (or $73.94, can't remember now!) from http://www.reddingmedical.com. That price included tax and S&H and they shipped FAST. That was also the cheapest price I found for that particular model. In uniform stores, that model sells for $84-ish and in my area, we have a high tax rate so I would have paid at least $90...by ordering online, I saved money and in nursing school, you'll soon realize that saving money is a huge plus!

aromarn · Aug 29, 2009

Mt Littmann is lightweight II S.E. I got it from nursing store in fulton street mall(NY) , like I said I paid $59.99, so its possible to get it at this price depending on where you live. But Littmann itself have different rank, so just get the one you could afford. The good thing about Littmann, it will last you very long time. Also I never had BP cuff either, we too brrowed when ever we needed them. I bought the penlight and everything but used the painlight rarely. If you can't afford it , do not go and buy everything!The most important is the Stethoscope!! u really do not want to use no ones stethoscope!!

jenniedennise · Aug 29, 2009

I used http://www.bigwords.com for books. It's awesome! You type in the title/ISBN/whatever you have and it searches all the book websites and lists them by price. Such a huge help!! Even using that, I still ended up getting most of my books at Amazon or alibris.com.

I bought a Littmann Classic II SE on http://www.medisave.net. They will laser engrave your name on it for FREE (most sites charge about $14 for that). I think it was around $70 with shipping and everything.

I haven't purchased any of the other items yet...but based on posts here at allnurses, the website allheart.com seems to be pretty popular.

Hope that helps! :)

MattiesMama · Aug 29, 2009

I agree with all PP's about getting a Littman...I went through 2 cheaply made $20 stethescopes before I finally sucked it up and bought my Littman Classic SE and it was the best $50 I ever spent!

I went to a local mom and pop uniform shop and they gave me a great discount for getting all of my supplies with them...small businesses have more leeway in setting their prices and if they see that you could become a regular customer they will usually do what they can to keep you coming back, especially in this economy!

xcitednsgstudent87 · Aug 30, 2009

I have a stethoscope with the blood pressure cuff combo. It was only $34.88 from amazon.com I currently dont have and scissors or penlight. U might want to invest in rolling backpack also. Those are going to be heavy!

Good Luck!

ErinJane · Aug 30, 2009

Allheart.com is a great resource for stethoscopes, BP cuffs etc.

I was going to have to pay 20 more for the same stethoscope at a uniform store.

Sarah Hay · Aug 30, 2009

At the beginning of my two year program, we were required to purchase a Skills Bag which contained all the good stuff we practice with excluding a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff which we had to get on our own. I got my stethoscope online for about 50 dollars (I got the Littman SE Lightweight) and my Gma gave me a blood pressure spyhgammometer because she's an RN and just happened to have one about. [=

JomoNurse · Aug 31, 2009

Are you sure you need all of that? All I bought was a steth and a pen light. The other things I borrowed from the clinical site. Remember, don't stress over clinical stuff. Stress over your lecture content and exams - those are what matters the most!

JennNJ83 · Sep 1, 2009

I agree all heart has great stuff and they are priced well, they also have blood pressure cuff, watch, stehoscpe packages in some nursing stores, they all match, might want to look into something like that too.

Also, for anyone who needs to get diagnostic test and drug guides, I saved $15.00 just buying off barnes and nobles online rather than in the store, I found amazon and half.com were even more expensive than bn.com, I guess cause they all need to be the most updated editions. Good luck!!!

rngingerpear · Nov 7, 2009

Congratulations on joining the profession. :yeah: Uniform stores are good sources, but I know that you can get a larger variety of choices by going to a website that sells stethoscopes and replacement parts. I have a website called Stethoscopes for Professionals where you can get Littmann, MDF and Welch Allyn stethoscopes at reasonable prices. I use the Classic II SE in my practice and find the combination of the small bell and large bell to be a flexible instrument for use with any group of patients.

Good Luck to you.