Why is it the highest paid among us...

wooh, BSN, RN · May 21, 2012

Here's what really bugs me, when a fellow floor nurse borrows my steth, they ALWAYS clean it before giving it back. When a mid-level or MD borrows, they hand it right back (since my expensive one disappeared, I watch the old one that I went back to like a hawk, so there's NO leaving my line of vision with it). Now it's not just that person's earwax on there. But how many other people's stethoscopes have they used that day? And all that ear wax....

Now I'm not saying that ear pieces are fomites, because I think half of the medical staff would be walking around with raging ear infections if that were the case. But it's still yucky.

wooh, BSN, RN · May 21, 2012

I'm going to top the ear infection, go with otic syphilis.

I'm sorry, I've got a mild case of flesh eating bacteria on my ear drum.

Aural herpes.

Or swimmer's ear, it's "just" swimmer's ear, but when you say it all scientific, it sounds HORRIBLE. "Sorry, got a touch of pseudomonas..."

Sorry, but my PMD recommended I not loan out my steth since I had that family of roaches removed from my ear canal.

workingharder · May 21, 2012

You just blew my mind.

"A mind is a terrible thing to blow. "(You boomers will understand.)

workingharder · May 21, 2012

I'm going to top the ear infection, go with otic syphilis.

Otic syphilis? My god, what have you been putting in there?

tothepointeLVN, LVN · May 21, 2012

Wasn't there a scene in Nurse Jackie where one of the doc's takes a nurse's new stethoscope specifically so she coud amuse herself while waiting for her to muster up the courage to ask for it back.

brillohead, ADN, RN · May 21, 2012

Otic syphilis? My god, what have you been putting in there?

sapphire18 · May 21, 2012

Wasn't there a scene in Nurse Jackie where one of the doc's takes a nurse's new stethoscope specifically so she coud amuse herself while waiting for her to muster up the courage to ask for it back.

YES- hilarious!! In the show...would not so much be funny in real life!

mz.snuggly1 · May 21, 2012

Start renting it out! Get a deposit on how much it is worth and when they return it give them their deposit minus the rental fee! I betcha they won't ask to borrow it again!:rotfl:

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · May 21, 2012

I hope you protested that counseling. Why doesn't the ^($%^(&)(*(** facility provide 'scopes, etc. for the doctors who can't be bothered routinely to bring their own?

I can understand an occasional forgetting but not every day or anywhere near that frequently.

Creamsoda, ASN, RN · May 21, 2012

Doesn't bother me. Im usually at the bedside when they use it so it not a problem. Cant we all just share. Lol.

Oh and mine is a hot pink litman, who wants to steal that anyway. I know no one in the entire hospital that I've seen so far with the same one.

kanzi monkey · May 21, 2012

Let me google that for you
Really, it will take all of 5 minutes to go online and order a new one, and then you have your own.
You think my neck doesn't hurt from carrying mine around? It doesn't get stuck in my pocket if I put it there?
For the occasional person that forgot theirs, that's one thing. I'm a team player. BUT YOU KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE ONE and are continuing to go without.
How many days do you think *I* could get away with not owning a stethoscope? What if the only nurse around had theirs stolen a few hours before, how are you going to assess your patient then?

I think you could probably get away without one for awhile.

And yes, I know I don't have one (that's what I said in my post). I lost it. It was expensive. I'm still hoping it turns up. I'm not made of money. And, as opposed to a floor nurse, I don't have a place to "dock" my stuff during the day as I don't have a "floor". I have my pockets, my hip, and my neck. If I get a chance to sit down, it is as a "guest" in some nurse's territory (break room, floor desk). I often can't stay because I'm being paged by a nurse to another floor/building. It's really easy to lose ANYTHING. Even though I miss my stethoscope, I can't deny it's a relief to not have to keep track of it.

Also, I guess I don't encounter a lot of people who just had their stethoscope stolen (ever). The people I work with (nurses/aides/MLPs/docs) aren't barbarians.

And why would you direct me to google? Seems a bit presumptuous and condescending since this is an online forum and you don't know me at all. I kind of doubt you'd treat me that way if you worked with me. Not because I'm forbidding in any way, but because I'm a decent person and a good colleague.

*crikey*

tothepointeLVN, LVN · May 21, 2012

I had a classmate that used to steal stethoscopes on a regular basis. She tried to walk off with mine but I nipped that in the bud. One unit had some spare littman's hanging up in case they were needed. Yup she took one (or more?) of those. Stethoscopes in the isolation cart. Yup those too. She borrowed one from me and said she left it in her car at lunchtime. Yup I walked her out to her car to retrieve it. Luckily she flunked out from turning up drunk too many times.