Where do you put your stethoscope?

allnurses Guide · Dec 10, 2010

No I'm not..You can look at it yourself its fundamentals of nursing by lippinncot williams and wilkins..the author is Taylor its the new edition and it has the same picture on the skills checklist and other stuff

No no . . I believe you. I was just . . . sorta speechless.

Crazy.

I was told it was unprofessional to have a pinning ceremony. That the local hospitals would look down on us as a class of professionals if we had a pinning. That they might not hire us.

I did some research. I asked the hospitals. I asked nursing schools in other areas (counties and states). I asked the BRN.

No one agreed that a pinning ceremony was unprofessional.

We had one.

Everyone got a job.

Do not believe everything you hear.

steph

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2010

No no . . I believe you. I was just . . . sorta speechless.
Crazy.
I was told it was unprofessional to have a pinning ceremony. That the local hospitals would look down on us as a class of professionals if we had a pinning. That they might not hire us.
I did some research. I asked the hospitals. I asked nursing schools in other areas (counties and states). I asked the BRN.
No one agreed that a pinning ceremony was unprofessional.
We had one.
Everyone got a job.
Do not believe everything you hear.
steph

lol wow thats crazy!!!! I am trying to be prepared for tehse next two years but i don't know :) I read this post when it was first up becuase i had just ordered my stethoscope and then i bought my books and saw that and laughed

newbiepnp, MSN, RN, NP, CNS · Dec 11, 2010

How does having it around your neck spread more germs than having it in your pocket? I clean my steth with alcohol inbetween patients.

PghRN30 · Dec 11, 2010

How does having it around your neck spread more germs than having it in your pocket? I clean my steth with alcohol inbetween patients.

Do you clean it between every single room you go in or between patients you use it on. I think the germ argument is that around your neck you may lean over a patient doing something and the stethoscope can come in contact with them....or any fomite in the room as you do things, change bed, whatever. then you go to another patients room with that, not thinking to clean it since you didnt use it. In your pocket you wouldnt have that as it would only come in contact wth patient, or fomites if you take it out of your pocket to use it, and then you would clean it. If you are cleaning it before every room you go into, weather you have used it or not then it wouldnt spread more germs, but taking into condideration one likely wouldnt clean a stethoscope after leaving a room when you didnt use it, you are going to pick up more germs in a room that you are not using it in if you have it on your neck, then if you have it in your pocket.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

The instructions that came with my Littman recommend against wearing it around the neck, because the oils from skin can damage the tubing.

That's exactly what my instructor said. She didn't ban us from wearing it around the neck, but she did tell us about how she ruined her Littman by doing that.

First time around in school, I didn't know that and wore it around my neck. The cat destroyed the steth before my skin oils did. This time around, since learning that I now try to keep it in my pocket or on a holder. At work, I don't carry the steth on me at all, but keep it at the nurses' station in case I need it.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

I know one solution to that, that I saw someone that used to be an EMT post on here, that was taught to her after she WAS choked by a hostile patient with her stethoscope, is to if that that is a risk, but that is where is handy for you to keep it, have it just lay over your shoulder, not wrap the whole way around your neck....earpieces in the front, head in the back....then if a hostile patient does grab it,they can only grab one end, and then they have the head of the stethoscope flying at them, which they will have to react to, and it will give you time to react.....wish i knew were i saw that post.
edit....i found the post......post number 8 on this thread https://allnurses.com/nursing-stethoscope/classic-ii-se-495553.html

Hi, that's my post :)

Yes, I continue to have my scope over my shoulder with the bell in back. And it has saved me quite a few times with my more aggressive patients, funny when they try to choke me with my scope, they get a bell flying at their face, once bitten twice shy, those pts never try that stunt again.

rags · Dec 15, 2010

Around my neck. Every RN I work with... Around the neck. Every Doctor I work with... Around the neck (but it may not ALWAYS be THEIR stethoscope as they like to borrow the nurse's). and... we aren't even on TV! We must look SOOO cool since we are like the movie stars! I never knew...

I think what your instructor told you sounds like a personal opinion for where she likes to carry hers. Just a guess...

rags

mamiekay · Dec 15, 2010

Around my neck with a roll of tape on one side...unless I'm going into an iso room. I tend to take mine off & lay it on my desk when I'm charting, then forget to pick it up before going into a patient's room. IMHO, it looks far more unprofessional to have to go out of a room to retrieve my stethoscope than to have it hanging around my neck! I remember my nursing lab instructor telling the class early in semester 1 that her Littman had "scoliosis" from hanging around her neck for so many years. LOL!

I actually live near the Littman repair place so it's easy for me to go in once every year (or three) and have my stethoscope cleaned. They replace the tubing each time so damage from neck oils isn't an issue. I'd be more concerned about the staph accumulating at the back of my neck! But I do clean it between patients & at the beginning & end of every shift. As for unprofessional, I'd be more apt to deem it unprofessional to pull it out of my pocket & have alcohol wipes, brain sheets, tape & scissors fall out on the floor.

Bottom line, do in school what your instructor tells you to do so you can graduate & get into the real world. Then you do what works for you...within safe parameters.

ittleb · Dec 15, 2010

Just finished my first semester (yeah!) and can't get my last clinical rotation out of my head. My instructor stated that we should keep our steths in our pocket and not around our neck. She claimed that it was unprofessional and only doctors and nurses on TV wear them around the neck. Eventhough I've seen plenty of professional staff with it around their necks, I've tried to comply, but twice ended up knocking the cap off of my markers and ended up ruining my uniforms which are white. Also with all the stuff we're expected to carry around in our pockets, it takes me forever to take out the steth without papers, 4x4s, etc. joining up. So, just wondering what everyone else does.

Well just to make it easier during your time in nursing school I only have one thing to say about that. Do whatever she saids. She's trying to nit pick which you always seem to have one nursing instructor who loves to see you frustrated and annoyed with their sometimes ridiculous demands. I have never heard of this before. Every nursing student I went to school with and every nurse I work with on the hospital floor wears them around their necks. So just hang in there because it will be over before you know it. Like the horrible instructor I had she's a thing of the past that I can laugh at now. Good luck.

csclarkrn, RN · Dec 15, 2010

I am a working RN and we use our stethoscope on a hourly basis. We ALL including MD, NP, PA wear our stethoscope around our necks. Sometimes, it might appear from a lab coat pocket but that is usually where some people carry it as they come to work or leave to go home but once they are on the unit and ready to see pts, we put it where we can get to it quickly. I have replaced my stethoscope several times over the length of my career and yes I just "lost" my best one ever, my Littman but am intrigued by the poster who lives near a Littman repair shop. Where is it because it would be worth it to have it cleaned and new tubing replaced. I have never heard of wearing it around your neck as unprofessional. We are encouraged to clean/wipe the head inbetween pts for ovbious reasons but I have one MD who takes a clean glove with each patient and places the head of his stethoscope in it and uses that just as he also uses gloves with each patient for infection control. It sounds as though your instructor is just being diffucult and trying to make things hard for you. I would love to be a fly onthe wall and watch her sometimes just to see if she practices what she preaches. I have seen instuctors who also still work in a hands on capacitiy and work and teach are two different worlds. But ultimately the instuctor is just that and she is the one who gives your grade be it passing or fail and even though a dilemma, put it in your pocket for this semester and get your passing grade.

lovedove · Dec 15, 2010

Hi all,

I too wear my stethoscope around my neck. Cleaning with every use is a must. I have a clip, but I find that when I use that my pants sag, unprofessionally showing my dereire.

Instructors are nurses who have chosen to take a position which pay less than most new grad positions, so to improve the quality of new nurses. But not all of them are that altruistic. Listen to what they say, but a sign of a good nurse is one that can critically think. Use evidence, and ask for hers. Perhaps the ANA has something about equipment use and professionalism. But maybe it's just her unsubstantiated opinion. The hard part is that nursing school is two to four years which you must get through to get to the rest of your career.

In the meanwhile, be flexible and use your critical thinking. Your instructor is the gatekeeper for passing. Keep them happy.

bosnanurse · Dec 15, 2010

I can say like someone told you - do as she said just to be in peace with "professional instructor" who probably is watching too many Scrubs on TV. I would just nicely ask her "on her unit where she is practicing nursing as staff nurse or NP or whatever how does she find it easier to wear in her left pocket or right pocket ?" I highly doubt she works 8 hr on her feet every week on some busy med surg floor. And , yes, I am a clinical instructor and I LIKE when my student bring their stethoscopes , clean them with alcohol between patients and know EXACTLY where to put it in lateral and posterior auscultation of the lungs and report me their findings and PUT THE STETHOSCOPE around their neck being proud how smart and good they are. :)))

God bless , tomorrow this instructor will be your past......