Where do you store your stethoscope?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 17, 2017

In my old unit, we used disposable steths that were left in the room. Starting today, I am in a new unit where everyone carries a stethoscope. So...where do you keep it when it is not on your neck or otherwise on your person?
Do you leave it in your car after shift, like your badge? Out in the open or in a container? What kind? I am using the box it came in tomorrow. I am thinking of putting a plastic file box with a lid in my trunk so I can empty my pockets (scissors, penlight, scope) after shift. Maybe a cloth bag and kept in my backpack?
What do you do?

Depending upon your climate, leaving your stethoscope (or your ID card or spare shoes) in your car is a problem. Freezing temperatures are hard on the tubing as are temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and sunlight will cause premature fading of your name badge. (Some institutions require to to have the photo replaced on your own dime.). Most nurses I know, men included, have a "going to work" bag of some sort in which they leave their name badge, stethoscope, spare iPhone charger, and whatever else they can't get through a shift without. My husband used a backpack for years, then switched to a messenger bag. I used a canvas tote for a long time, then switched to a large, leather tote that made me smile every time I looked at it's saturated REDness.

Both my husband and I were guilty of just throwing the stethoscope into the bag, which sometimes became problematic. Imagine pulling your stethoscope out of the depths of your messenger bag and it bringing along a package of feminine hygiene products that it had gotten attached to. (That happened to my husband -- he was bringing them to work for me). It would be wiser to put the stethoscope in some sort of case -- a hard case probably isn't necessary, as our scopes seemed to survive their ill treatment, but perhaps a cloth bag.

Keeping your stethoscope on your neck is bad for the tubing (your skin's oils react with the tubing and it hardens over time and conforms to the shape of your neck) and it's not a good idea for many reasons that are documented elsewhere. Another reason it's not a good idea is that providers will pluck the scope off your neck and use it -- uttering a careless "you don't mind, do you?" -- and often walk off with your scope, never to be seen again. If you're not using it, keep it somewhere relatively NOT visible. My husband had a "scope holder" that fit on the drawstring of his scrub bottoms which kept the scope handy, but in a place where strangers were unlikely to snatch it. I kept mine in my work bag, which resided over the chair on the computer station in my patient's room (ICU). A leg pocket of your scrubs works, too.

As far as emptying your pockets after a shift, your locker is a good place for this. I empty mine standing over the shred bin in the ICU -- anything that has a patient's information gets immediately shredded, and everything else gets tossed in the trash (alcohol wipes I've carried around all day, etc.) or placed in a special pocket of my going to work bag. Emptying your pockets in your car leads to your car becoming a rolling trash bin and protected information being unprotected.

Congratulations on your new job. I apologize for being so long winded, but perhaps my ideas will help others reading this thread if they're not useful to you.