stethoscopes

emily_mom · Dec 8, 2002

You get what you pay for. I used a cheapie the first semester and then got a Cardiology III from Allheart. I'd never use anything else. Buy what you can afford. Personally I'd ask for a little more high quality one than that, though.

Kristy

Mito · Dec 8, 2002

I had a cheap one when I started school and breath sounds is where I found it to be severly lacking. Get the very best you can afford I use a Lit. Master Cla$$ic II and find it to be very good.

Mito

eak16 · Dec 9, 2002

I agree. I have two scopes, a $20 one and a cardiology III. The expensive one is much better, hands down. Maybe money is really tight, but it will mean much less frustration trying to hear heart and lung sounds as a student. And when you break it down to how much you will use it month after month, year after year, $150 isn't that much.

mistersleepy · Dec 9, 2002

I am a CVICU Nurse, I use a cardiology III and I love it. As a student, you may not need one this good but I would definately get a Littman. Get the best one you can afford. (P.S. I have one of the $20 ones too and it's not a lot better than placing your ear on the pt.) LOL

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2002

I use the cheapest there is. Our hospital provides disposables for isolation patients and those work fine for me. (But I'm neuro, not cardiology).

For some reason the expensive one's like Littman I can't hear a thing. I think it's those squishy earpieces that don't work in my ears.

Plus, there is a standing order at my hospital for my stethoscopes to disappear. I've lost probably about six stethoscopes.

Cheap all the way for me. They work fine.

nurseleigh · Dec 9, 2002

I am a LPN student(about to graduate, woohoo) and have used a $15 stethoscope all through school. I never had any problems hearing heart or lung sounds with mine.

I will agree with the others that you might as well buy the best you can afford, whether that be a $15 one or $100. Just be sure that if you do go for the more expensive one you have it permanently attached to your neck so it doesn't "walk off." If your willing to pay that much for a steth, you should be willing to dress it up with a nametag.

Leigh

Ortho_RN · Dec 9, 2002

I use a Littman Lightweight, it cost about $40 and it works fine... I did get to use a nurses Cardiology steth at work one night and it is GREAT!! But I want to work Peds, so I am not spending $200+ for something to use while in school... If I DO NOT get to work Pediatrics then I will get a Cardiology steth..

Just don't waste your money on those double-tubed steths they are hard to hear out of.. At least I think so..

RNforLongTime · Dec 10, 2002

I say get a Littman Classic II SE, they run about 60 bucks, maybe a little less at allheart.com. I have a Littman Cardio. III and wouldn't use anything else. The difference is AMAZING!

hogan4736, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2002

Originally posted by 3rdShiftGuy
I use the cheapest there is. Our hospital provides disposables for isolation patients and those work fine for me. (But I'm neuro, not cardiology).

For some reason the expensive one's like Littman I can't hear a thing. I think it's those squishy earpieces that don't work in my ears.

Plus, there is a standing order at my hospital for my stethoscopes to disappear. I've lost probably about six stethoscopes.

Cheap all the way for me. They work fine.

This guy is a genius!

Look (this reply only applies to ER nurses),

As a seasnoned ER nurse (7 years), I feel that a cheap stethoscope is sufficient (though I miss my 60.00 Littman - a gift to myself upon passing my boards...it has since been lost)

My point? If you can't tell that a patient is in trouble without a 150.00 stethoscope, then, I want you nowhere near me in a critical situation!

Yea, I might better hear S1 and S2 w/ a Littman Cardio, but how does that change my bedside care IN THE ER? (This rant doesn't apply to tele, CVICU, and the like...ONLY ER!!!)

I hear breath sounds just fine w/ my 20.00 cheapie, but let's talk reality...most ER docs will do as they please, irrespective of our thoughts/assessments. And those (ER docs) that are our buds, know we won't send anyone home that doesn't yet belong there, and rely on our intuition, not a gallop or a crackle!

Thank you

kaylynn · Dec 20, 2002

You really do get what you pay for. I borrowed a cheapy the other day and could not hear anything. A good Littmann is always a smart choice. And a good place I've found to buy them online is http://www.stethoscopesplus.com

They have a comparison chart for each brand and I was quickly able to find what I wanted at a great price.

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2002

I have a Littmann classic II. It was about $60, so it wasn't too expensive but it wasn't a cheapie either. I feel comfortable hearing heart and lung sounds with it and didn't totally blow my budget.