Stethoscope for School

Nursing Students General Students

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I've been looking on Allheart.com and seeing a lot of expensive stethoscopes. What is really necessary for nursing school?

I agree with Irish on the Ultrascope. I have a Littman Classic II SE and a Maxiscope by Ultrascope. The Maxiscope is only $45-$50 on amazon.com and it is much better than the Littman... I can hear more sounds with it, even through clothing and ::ahem:: extra tissue. The only drawback is that it's a bit heavier.

Expensive stethoscopes "come up missing" and cheap stethoscopes fall apart. (the $12-20 range) The more you can hear, the more comfortable one might become with assessment. In the ICU and under contact precautions you might end up using the cheap disposable ones anyway,(that are left in the patient's room only, because of contact isolation precautions) though, so it might be frustrating to spend money on a good one. I got my Littman Cardiology III in the middle of nursing school before we studied Cardio-Respiratory and loved it. My cheap stethoscopes fell apart and I used the parts of two to make one whole, and didn't worry about anyone taking it from me. One less thing to worry about during the chaos of nursing school. Try the stethoscopes in a store, see what is out there. Good luck!

Specializes in Emergency Department.
I agree with Irish on the Ultrascope. I have a Littman Classic II SE and a Maxiscope by Ultrascope. The Maxiscope is only $45-$50 on amazon.com and it is much better than the Littman... I can hear more sounds with it, even through clothing and ::ahem:: extra tissue. The only drawback is that it's a bit heavier.

One of my partners during my EMS time had one and she absolutely raved about hers. As I stated above, you want a stethoscope that you can afford to lose or break and this certainly fits the requirement and it's definitely not an inferior product. It's just different. In fact, the only downside to these is that the head is a bit large. I suspect that the larger head is what helps isolate the desired sounds from the less desired ones.

While I'm a fan of the Littmann stethoscopes, you won't find me stating that you shouldn't get one of these. Buy a stethoscope that runs between $35 and $75 (not including tax/shipping) from pretty much any manufacturer and you should not be displeased with what you get.

Probably the most important thing with stethoscopes is the fit with your ears. If the ear pieces do not fit right, the most expensive and best stethoscope in the world will not work for you.

I've done a fair amount of research on this too- a nurse I know said definitely get a littmann for nursing school and beyond. I chose the Littmann Classic II from allheart.com for nursing school, they're on sale right now too. I also got mine engraved because he, like many others, mentioned that they tend to "grow legs" otherwise.

I've done a fair amount of research on this too- a nurse I know said definitely get a littmann for nursing school and beyond. I chose the Littmann Classic II from allheart.com for nursing school, they're on sale right now too. I also got mine engraved because he, like many others, mentioned that they tend to "grow legs" otherwise.

I just bought mine off Allheart.com today! I got the Classic II S.E. and got it engraved too :)

Specializes in ICU.

I got a Littmann Lightweight. I had the ADC and a prestige stethoscope the Littmann was the better one

Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
To really hear murmurs you need a Littman Master Cardiology. A good investment for anyone working in a Critical Care area.[ATTACH=CONFIG]16759[/ATTACH]

On my Christmas List!

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
On my Christmas List!

Oh try and see if you can find somebody with an MDF. I've had that littman cardio, my husband had one...my MDF blows it away.

What color did you get? :) I bought purple but I hope the color doesn't matter for school...

I bought the caribbean blue!! Our scrubs are purple, or else I probably would have gone with that too! When do you start??

Specializes in ICU.

I got the littman cardiology III. I love it and other people tell me it is way better to hear with than theirs. It's been awesome in clinical to be able to hear crackles, ronchi, wheezing. I got the bright purple with the rainbow bell and had it engraved. It's very obvious that it is mine. No one could get away with stealing it.

I almost got a Littman, but settled for:

Adscope 601, Convertible Stethoscope.

It was $120, and I feel that it's just as good as a Littman. I convinced my mom to get me a Littman when I graduate from nursing school as a graduation gift :D

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