Stethoscope recommendations?

[Morelaur288, BSN, RN]

I’m looking to upgrade my stethoscope as the one I have now isn’t the best quality. I work in the MICU and could potentially be working with cardiac patients later in my career. Which stethoscopes do you recommend?

[PeakRN]

In the ICU? The one that stays in room to prevent the spread of infection.

[popopopo]

Master cardiology 3 or 4. I have both, can't really tell the difference.

[Cowboyardee]

Got the littman cardiology (4 I think) as a present, and I like it a lot. Even the cheaper littmans arent bad either. I haven't seen too many double-tubes stethoscope that are awful regardless of brand, though I certainly havent tried them all.

Frankly though, more RNs fail in their skills, knowledge, diligence, and interpretation than in their equipment when it comes to auscultation. The best tool is often just solid clinical education amd experience.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

I love the Welch Allyn Harvey DLX, which I actually got based on the recommendation of @PeakRN last year. I personally like it better than the Littmann Cardiology or Master Cardiology; it's a smidge softer, but it's way clearer. Littmann is super loud (especially the MC), but amplifies everything including ambient noise, so it can actually be harder to tell the heart sounds apart. I've trialed pretty much every brand through my coworkers (Littmann classic/cardiology/MC, MDF procardial, adscope, etc.) I even had a few NPs with their own Littmann Cardiology scopes comment on how much then loved my scope after borrowing it.

It's usually pretty cost prohibitive (they retail at around $400), but Steeles.com sells them with the 'Student Kit' for $160, the same price as a Littmann Cardiology; when I purchased mine, I didn't have to demonstrate that I was actually a student or use a student email....

26 minutes ago, Cowboyardee said:

Frankly though, more RNs fail in their skills, knowledge, diligence, and interpretation than in their equipment when it comes to auscultation. The best tool is often just solid clinical education amd experience.

I agree; an experienced person can hear a murmur with a $10 disposable stethoscope better than a rookie with a $200 scope. However, the best way to learn is to actually hear what the experienced person is describing, and that's definitely easier with a louder, clearer stethoscope.

[Cowboyardee]

8 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

I agree; an experienced person can hear a murmur with a $10 disposable stethoscope better than a rookie with a $200 scope. However, the best way to learn is to actually hear what the experienced person is describing, and that's definitely easier with a louder, clearer stethoscope.

Thanks, and very true. I just wanted to add that youtube is a great resource for this kind of thing because you can get decent recorded examples of different adventitious sounds along with discussion of said sounds, patho, etc. Tons of free educational videos, many geared toward med students. Wish I had it back when I started.

[Morelaur288, BSN, RN]

Thank you all for the advice and tips!

[Gingeriffic]

Littmann Master Cardiology hands down. But instead of taking our word for it over the internet, ask around on your unit - I’m sure people are using various steths. Compare (on the same patient is extremely helpful) and see which you like the most! Don’t worry about showing up the first day without one, the unit will have extras or borrow your preceptors. We understand it’s a huge investment that you should put a lot of thought and research into.

[Josh The Nurse]

On 11/6/2019 at 10:54 AM, adventure_rn said:

 

I agree; an experienced person can hear a murmur with a $10 disposable stethoscope better than a rookie with a $200 scope. However, the best way to learn is to actually hear what the experienced person is describing, and that's definitely easier with a louder, clearer stethoscope.

I realize I'm super late to the game, but this response makes no sense. I can't hear a thing out of a $10 stethoscope. In fact, the Littman II se sucks too. If you want a nice scope, shell out the bucks. Cardio 3, 4, or Master Cardiology. I have a cardio 3 and master cardio, cardio 3 is louder for me. Regardless, I use the master cardio only because I replaced the tubing with some hot pink tubing and I'm a dude, so I get tons of compliments and jabs all the time, makes the night more fun. I also have crap hearing. All the nurses I work with have a scattering of different brands and models. All the sage advice is super cool and Mr Miyagi like, I get it. Let's be real though, if I hear something abnormal and the doctor for some reason didn't catch it earlier or it's a change, I'll be calling the doc just like any other nurse and if it actually warrants action we'll be getting an EKG or and echo. If lungs sound trashy we'll do a CXR, make them cough and deep breathe, do some labs, blah blah blah. Nobody in the real world sits there and debates over what they heard and what they are going to do without using some form of tech. Seriously, even some joker coming in with a cardiac thing will be on a monitor. We don't throw a stethoscope on somebody's chest during chest compressions and determine whether we're going to defibrillate based on what we hear. 9/10 times a stethoscope is a ritualistic thing we do because it makes the patient and their family think we're doing something important, and some medical providers even pull funny faces to get people to think they hear something interesting or something, I don't know, but I've never been a fan of BS. As I said above, I wear a hot pink sexy $200+ stethoscope and it riles everybody up, patients laugh, management thinks I'm weird, I still do my job and do it well. Could I do it with a $10 stethoscope? Sure, but I'd be lying because I wouldn't hear a damn thing, not even a bowel tone. I'm not a cocky nurse though.