Recommended Stethoscope for STUDENT!

Nurses Uniform/Gear

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What steth do you have? I am starting the program in August and am going to keep my eyes peeled for online deals for stethoscope. I hear of Littmann, of course, but there is just so many different kinds!

What do you recommend for a nursing student?!

Specializes in Labor and Delivery.
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Here you go. for what average nurses do, all you need is the Omron Sprague Rappaport, judged here as the best value for the money. When you get a little more sophisticated spring for something better. You just look silly with a stethoscope you don't know how to use, honestly.

We had a professor who said this to our class our first semester but I really don't agree. We all had the "sprague" and there is no comparison. You can't here a thing with it which and when you are trying to learn you really don't need an extra handicap. A littman is not that much and is way better so whats teh point of buying a cruddy steth, so you don't look stupid, and then buying a better one later on. Thats more wasteful to me.

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I'm using a Littmann Master Cardiology for adult rotations. It's great, I'd recommend it to anybody. I love not having 2 sides, it's quick to move and pick up different sounds.

And I very much disagree with the implication that students can't hear anything. In another life I was trained as a musician, and I promise you I can hear quite well. As an example, I'm often the first to pick up diminished breath sounds in my patients. Sometimes that doesn't matter, but sometimes it's critical. But hey, I'm just a student. It's probably better not to listen to me and keep overloading those fluids.

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

Whatever. And you want to know why seasoned nurses get fed up with students. If you already know everything, don't ask!

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.
Whatever. And you want to know why seasoned nurses get fed up with students. If you already know everything, don't ask!

I have worked with absolute wonderful nurses let me first say. Second, she posted in a "nursing student" section so I don't think theres anything wrong with students offering their advice on what worked or works for them. Whatever-very mature-just because someone has a differing opinion.

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

I myself have a Littman and love it. Like you, I was unsure what to get as there are so many kinds...I went to the Littman website direct and checked to see what they recommended for nursing students, then purchased one. I believe I have the Classic II.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in CNA.
Whatever. And you want to know why seasoned nurses get fed up with students. If you already know everything, don't ask!

..there's one thing with suggesting to a student what to buy, it's another thing to be ignorant about it.

dramatic.

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I have the Littmann Master Classic II and I love it. I bought one of the cheap $25 ones at the beginning of nursing school but I couldn't hear anything out of it really. I mean, nursing school is meant to teach you the "normals" then the "abnormals" so I think a good stethoscope is key. I love my master classic II. Very good quality.

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What steth do you have? I am starting the program in August and am going to keep my eyes peeled for online deals for stethoscope. I hear of Littmann, of course, but there is just so many different kinds!

What do you recommend for a nursing student?!

I got a prestige clinical 1 for nursing school. Is comparable to a littman classic II from all reviews i've seen. And costs like $40-$50. It also seems to be the most common stethoscope i see nurses with that is not a littmann. Also, if you are looking at brick and morter stores, many will have storewide discounts this week for nurses week.

I figured that I didn't know what I was listening for and just needed a decent, but not too expensive stethoscope, and that I would invest in a littmann once I could tell the quality difference. Was going to wait until passed nclex so could order it engraved with my name and RN, but went to NSNA convention and did a focus group with littman and they gave me $75 off a littmann but had to get it there, so got the one I really wanted and will get it engraved once am actually an RN.

I just would not recommend going too cheap (and yes you can) I know people that did and quickly had to replace it because they never could hear anything. One guy I knew was a PCT and thought it was silly we had to have our own stethoscopes.....he was just going to use the disposable ones they have on the unit. Well as a PCT he never had to try using those, and they are little better then fisher price toy ones. Yeah, he quickly ended up with a littmann. One nice thing with the prestige and the littmann is they come with different ear buds. Usually 2 different sizes of soft rubber, and one hard plastic. Many cheaper ones only come with hard plastic, or one size rubber. For me hard plastic hurts my ears and i can hear almost nothing, even from my prestige(my sister on the other hand uses the hard plastic). I need the smaller soft ones. No matter what you go with, I would look for that, as that will impact how you hear since that is how it will fit right to your ears.

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I had a cheap one in LPN school and couldn't hear anything. It was very frustrating! You need a good one to learn heart and lung sounds. When I graduated my parents gave me a Littmann Classic II and it is pretty good. It is a light pink color and after over a year of wearing it around my neck my dark colored scrubs have stained it. It still works well but looks kind of ugly and dirty. I just finished up my 1st semester in a RN program and the 2nd week of school I bought a Littmann Cardiology III with my name engraved on it. I love it! It is heavier but I can tell a difference in what I can hear with it. Oh and I bought a rasberry colored one so that it will easily be recognized and less likely to walk away or become discolored by dark colored scrubs. Just about every student in my program bought a black stethoscope. That could get confusing since just about everyone also bought a Littmann Cardiology III or Master Cardiology!

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Specializes in ED.

Some nursing schools require your scope to have a bell, ie two sides to listen from. Make sure it passes mustard before you buy. I think the littmann classic II is good for school. When I got a job I bought a Master Cardiology II but I think I would prefer the STC now.

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Specializes in CNA.

Mustard?!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Step-Down.

I have a Littmann Master Cardiology. I had the master classic II in school. Both are nice stethoscopes which I would recommend, but I am absolutely in love with my master cardiology. I bought myself my master cardiology stethoscope when I graduated nursing school and it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I can hear literally EVERYTHING on it. I have gotten so confident on that stethoscope with breath and heart sounds, and can hear even the slightest heart murmurs. My only regret is that I didn't get it sooner so that I could have benefited from it in school. It's an expensive stethoscope but well worth the money since you will learn so much on it. I work in pediatrics too and it suits me very well there even though it is not traditionally a pediatric stethoscope (although it does have a peds attachment that I never use). Personally I think it is better to get a really nice stethoscope early on and learn well with it. If you use a really really cheap one you won't be able to hear anything well at all, and what is the point of that?

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