Personalizing Stethoscopes?

doublehelix · Oct 14, 2010

Unless you often lose things, you don't need to put your name on your stethoscope. Mine is unlabled, its always around my neck, I'm not going to lose it anytime soon.

I've never lost any of my posessions, but our instructor asks we have our names noted on EVERYTHING we take to clinical. She said if another nurse, student, doc, etc asks to borrow our stethoscope, we are to say no regardless of the situation because we will never get it back. I've worked in a hospital and these things go missing like crazy. We've only had three classes on practicing vital signs and a number of students stethoscopes have already gone missing; aka most likely stolen. Our instructor said the previous year, residents took students expensive littmanns they left around the desk area, and they recovered them after seeing the same male residents wearing a scope with beaded jewlery wrapped around the neck. :lol2:

At some point it does have to come off your neck... what about when you're entering isolation rooms, or doing CPR; you don't want that thing flapping around on your neck. If someone goes through my bag in the clinical room (which I have had happen) they are less likely to take something if it is personalized or can be easily identified by myself or another.

Thank you to the rest for your help!! medisave sounds like a great site, but since I already had a littmann I think i'm just going to look around in my city for reputable places to engrave my scope.

subzer0 · Oct 14, 2010

Is that possible?

cmonkey · Oct 17, 2010

Here is a question for all of you nursing students and graduate nurses... How did you personalize your stethoscope? I don't want to just write my name on it with permanent marker. I made an ID tag out of beads, the only problem is I can't figure out how to attach it to have it stay put. My steth is a Littmann classic II, and doesn't have the extra piece around the neck that would be useful for wrappin a ID tag around (like this one: http://topbanana.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/littmann-stethoscope-hunter-green.jpg)
Do you find sleeves get in your way at all, or are tough to clean?

I had mine engraved and it still took a walk. So I got an Ultrascope with hot pink tubing and a royal blue diaphragm. "Borrow" that!

I may still put a dog tag or something on it, just in case, but I don't think anyone will ever mistake it for their Littmann.

mVSd · Oct 17, 2010

Thank you to the rest for your help!! medisave sounds like a great site, but since I already had a littmann I think i'm just going to look around in my city for reputable places to engrave my scope.

Hi...Just so you'll know, Medisave will engrave the Littman you own!

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Oct 17, 2010

I have a little plastic clip. I wouldn't want something like cloth that could carry around a bunch of germs. I think it should be something that you can disinfect.

MissJulie · Oct 17, 2010

I'm a HUGE Betty Boop fan and found a cute tag where she's dressed like a nurse with a syringe and the whole works, but I guess the adhesive wasn't strong enough, because it broke off and I've never seen it again. However, I had decided to get a different color then everyone else, so it sticks out!

Actually I don't think that anyone has the same color and brand combo, amazing I know, so that helps everyone keep track.

RNHeatherLA · Oct 17, 2010

I have the same stethescope as you, and I got it in "raspberry" color to stand out from all the black ones. I didn't know you could get a nameplate for up so I just ended up writing my name on it in black permanent marker.. It looks ugly and ghetto, haha so I definitely recommend getting a nameplate for it! I think I will before I actually start my nursing career (I'm graduating in 9 weeks!! :))

mercuryrawks · Oct 19, 2010

I ordered my Littman from allhearts.com and they personalized it for me. I think you can send it in to them to have it done as well, just like you can send it in to medico. You can have it personalized on the tubing, which I did, or engraved on the bell. I think a girl in my class had hers engraved in the mall at one of the ornament carts that is set up around christmas. Things remembered didn't want to do it, though I have heard of people getting it done there.

At the hospital I worked at, they would often "take" new grads or students stethoscopes. They would be recovered in the freezer, or seemingly lost forever, only to be reclaimed by a student from another school, or a resident. That is why when I ordered mine, I had it personalized. I bought it in garnet, to help keep me motivated for my MSN college of choice.

doublehelix · Oct 19, 2010

I was told engraving a steth on the bell voids the warranty... I took my steth to an engraver, and two places now have said they are unable to engrave it. They say they are only able to engrave the steths with the metal plate, not on the metal arms (by the earpieces.)

I'd rather just buy a new steth if it means I have to order online.. I have to pay to ship it to them, the cost of engraving, if they will do it on the arm, and then the cost of them to ship it to me (and let me tell you, the majority of sites charge ridiculous fees to ship to Canada. It costs us ~$10 to ship a package within the country!)

punkydoodlesRN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2011

Like this :)

http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/Photo_Bella/?action=view&current=il_fullxfull145454356.jpg

letters are blurred on purpose, but you get the hint!

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Jun 29, 2011

At some point it does have to come off your neck... what about when you're entering isolation rooms, or doing CPR; you don't want that thing flapping around on your neck.

...which is why your steth should live in a leg pocket and not around your neck. Also, a stethoscope in your pocket does not provide a belligerent patient with an instant choke-hold on you.

RHIA, RN · Jun 29, 2011

Just to make a point . . . when I worked in med-surg the doctors/ residents were always borrowing stethoscopes from the nurses. Some of the doctors would walk up while talking on their phones and just take it from around your neck. Usually, they brought it back but sometimes they would forget. There was one doc that had a rep "don't ever let him use your stethoscope, you won't see it again". The nurse from his office actually brought a box of stehoscopes back to the hospital because he would go back to his office with them! :)

Anyway, my own stethoscope has bead work on it. Similar to this :http://www.taosindiantradingco.com/beadwork.php my sister did it for me. Warning though, it is heavy.