Stethescope & Blood Pressure Monitor

springsheen · Aug 3, 2009

I'm wondering about this too. My school has told us that we can buy the Cardiology III stethoscopes for about $75CDN from a certain company, but should I get a Littmann anyway?

I've heard that Littmanns do have unparalleled quality in their stethoscopes, but is there that much difference to warrant the huge difference in price?

maija · Aug 3, 2009

Am having hard time on this. Haven't used a stethoscope in my life, so I wanna buy one as early as possible in order for me to practice on how to use it. I really don't know which one to buy. I am trying to shop around, but couldn't find a store in NJ that sells stethoscope.

Blessed2009 · Aug 3, 2009

I purchased a Littmann II Classic and it is way better than the cheaper stethoscopes at the uniform stores. It would be a great investment.

phelipa · Aug 3, 2009

I had the same issue last year and ended up getting the Littmann Cardiology III for about 180$CDN. It is absolutely great - I love it! I have never had a problem with it. We were told by our clinical instructor that by hanging it around your neck the oils from your skin tend to make it stiff so I bought a stethescope cover for mine and it works really well. I was told not to get the Cardio III because it's heavier/it'll make your neck sore etc...but I have never had a problem and really? It's not that much heavier...I love it, and because I got that one first I'm hoping I won't have to replace it for a while. Almost all of my classmates bought the Classic II and that one is really good as well - it's a little lighter and comes in colours that are much more fun In our program we needed at LEAST the Classic II.

In terms of a BP cuff, I bought a general peice of crap one just to have to practice at home. They have wall mounted ones at labs so I only used it to practice before exams. Half the time, clinical settings have the electronic ones and you don't even do a manual BP. It was nice to have one just to practice but I wouldn't reccomend getting a pricey one unless your clinical proff says you need it to take to clinicals with you.

Good luck :)

phelipa · Aug 3, 2009

To Browning20 - there really is a huge difference in quality. Half the stethescopes sold in other stores don't even have the bell on them which makes it hard for extra heart sounds because it's different amounts of pressure that allow you to hear different frequencies of sound. The others aren't great quality and you end up replacing them quite a bit - I found it more cost efficient and beneficial to just buy the best one up front and have it for a while.

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Aug 5, 2009

Hello all,
I am a new member and this is my first post.
Finally, I am formally admitted into the Nursing Program this coming Fall, and now on the process of scouting materials that I would be needing.
My question is: What is the best possible Stethescope and BP Machine to buy? I am considering
3M™ Littmann® Master Cardiology™ Stethoscopes
any comment please?
And with regards to BP machine, please i need your help too.
Thank you.
Maija:wink2:

Welcome to allnurses.com !!! :yeah: :yeah:

As a person beginning nursing school, I'm not sure you need to spend $$$$ on a Littman Cardiology stethoscope (just my opinion). The better the scope, the higher the likelihood it will grow legs & wander away to a new home.

A Littman Classic II or Classic II SE would probably do the job nicely. I see lots of nurses continuing to use a Sprague Rappaport type scope, which is inexpensive & does the job (but usually comes with painful earpieces).

Another option to the name brand ($$$) Littman scope is to go with a Littman clone. I used a clone for years on medic duty, and it worked just fine. A nurse I was shadowing today in the ICU was using a Kila clone of the Littman Cardiology scope (~$28). For the Kila scopes, see:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Kila-Cardiology-Quality-Stethoscope/dp/B000M9FHUM/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1249434395&sr=8-13

http://www.amazon.com/SPECIALIST-Single-Cardiology-Quality-Stethoscope/dp/B000M9M4GM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1249434395&sr=8-5

Right now, I'm using a GRX Medical CD29 scope - a clone of the Littman Cardiology III. It's worked very well for me, and costs ~$37. See:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CARDIOLOGY-STETHOSCOPE-FREE-Pen-Light-Name-Tag-CD29_W0QQitemZ390073380167QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad22f6d47&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

You probably do not need a blood pressure "machine." Those are usually battery powered - you attach the cuff, press a button, and the machine takes it from there. What you may need is a MANUAL BP cuff, without an attached stethoscope. That way, you get practice in doing BPs manually - pumping the cuff up, slowly dropping the pressure while listening for the thump-thump-thump through your stethoscope. Unless it's required in your program, you might just want to practice using the manual cuffs that are bound to be available at your school & on the hospital floors (when you do clinicals). I'm not sure you'd use your own cuff that much unless you get in the habit of checking BPs on your friends & family.

LTC Lady · Dec 17, 2009

GO to allheart.com, i would suggest investing in a decent stethoscope as it will be with you for a while. As for a BP cuff, econo is ok. The baseline Allheart one will do for all you would need it for. put your name on EVERYTHING. And be ware of lending, i loaned my Littmann to a classmate to asses her son's lung sounds @ home and i never got it back. Some Docs are bad about borrowing too and forgetting to return.

Trauma Columnist · Dec 23, 2009

Many facilities no longer allow steth covers due to infection control issues. I wear mock-turtlenecks under my scrubs so that my steth doesn't touch my skin.

As to which steth to buy: I vote Littmann cardiology III or one of the other cheaper Littmanns. There is a difference between Littmann's and other cheaper brands.

Good luck in school.

Almostnurse88 · Dec 23, 2009

Personally i would go with a Littman Classic 2 SE. Thats what we were recomended and i havent heard anyone complain about it. I ordered mine off medisave.net and got my name engraved on the bell for free. If you do order online i would avoid allheart.com ive heard nothing but bad things about that company.

MrsMeg · Dec 31, 2009

My husband just ordered me a Classic II SE from allheart.com for Christmas and he paid extra and waited an extra week to have it laser engraved (so it doesn't walk off) but when it arrived there was no engraving on it. Needless to say he now has to send it back to get the engraving done and wait another week. He said he will not be purchasing from them anymore.

They do have some off the norm colors so they are good for that, like the all black ones look nice, but if your getting it engraved I would suggest going somewhere else.

Mini-Murse · May 13, 2011

As someone who is entering school in the fall, I've been starting to purchase items that I'll need, such as steths and cuffs, and I've done some research and asked around to nursing friends.

The result I came up with is this: Buy a lower-quality scope, maybe a $30-40 one. This scope will be the one you keep in your car's trunk just in case you forget your normal one, so you don't have to go back home to get it.

Buy a higher-quality one, $70-100. This will be the one that you'll learn the most with, get the most hands-on practice with in clinicals and labs; but it's also not a huge loss if someone walks away with it, and it's easily replaceable.

When you graduate, or even start your 2nd year, invest in a high-quality Cardiac 3 or equivalent - the $140+ ones. By this time, you'll be comfortable and familiar, and you'll be used to keeping hold of your scope so nobody runs off with it. I plan on buying this as a kind of reward for beginning my 2nd year. Until then, my $80 Clinical I scope will do juuuust fine.

I do recommend buying a single-tube and a dual-tube, and learning how to effectively use both - I've heard many people state that dual tube scopes are harder to use, but I prefer the dual I got to my single Clinical I so far.... that might just be because I was told to get a single-tube, and I always like going against the grain