Stethoscope

[ittybabyRN, RN]

Hi All,

I am a student about to graduate in May and I have recently accepted a new graduate position in a level III NICU. I am SUPER excited and can't wait to start working. My retired RN nana is insisting she buy me a new stethoscope for graduation and I am wondering what the best brands/styles are that are used most often and which size, pediatric vs neonatal and any other specifications you can think of.

Thanks so much and I appreciate your input!

[Galore]

I would call and check with your unit before purchasing your own stethoscope. For infection control purposes, each baby has their own stethoscope that stay with them at the bedside for their whole hospital stay in my unit. I think most other places are like this.

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

I was surprised to find that mine actually doesn't (well, effectively -- apparently the NM ordered 40+ Littmann infant steths about six months before I started, and surprise surprise, most of them grew legs and walked away). At any rate, most of the nurses in my unit use their own, and are simply diligent about wiping with alcohol between patients. At the moment, I'm using the Littmann cardiology III that my aunt gave me for graduation, but I'm waiting on a Littmann infant that I ordered. The cardiology III is great, acoustics-wise, but the chestpiece often looks like it's bigger than some of the babies I take care of!

[Sweeper933]

Most units have a policy about each baby having their own stethoscope at their bedside that then gets thoroughly cleaned before new patients. Definitely check with your specific unit before your nana buys you anything.

Good luck!

[Florida NICU RN]

Our unit's policy is a stethoscope at each infant's bedside for infection control. The only nurses with their own are our Tranport RNs and they borrow one from the unit and clean it all the time.

Check with the unit first but if you have more than one infant/shift (and chances are you will) it would be a pain to clean it after each use. Hopefully your unit has enough for every infant. AND, I wouldn't want to bring it home, either. Keep the bugs in the unit, don't bring them home.