all I Want for Xmas is a........stethoscope?

BU Medical Sciences
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RySerr21

RySerr21

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So my birthday is coming up soon, and Xmas is also just around the corner. My dad half jokingly but half seriously through out the idea of getting me a stethoscope for Xmas. While I laughed at the idea, I told him I had no idea where to even begin gathering info about which stethoscope to buy and for that reason I asked him not to get me one.

So, has anybody elses parents insisted on getting a stethoscope as a gift?

More importantly, how do you go about getting a stethoscope? I'm guessing the schools dont provide them, and just as with any product i'm sure there are varying qualities and prices and I'm sure there is a brand or a type that is most common/has the best reviews or whatever. So what should you be looking for in a stethoscope and at what point is the increase in price not really worth the increase in value of the product?
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Most medical students buy either a Littman (cardiology III is popular, but they have more and less expensive versions) or a Welch Allyn. If you go to the allopathic forum and do a search for "stethoscope", you'll find a bunch of threads discussing them. You can buy them online at places like allheart.com. However, I would recommend waiting until you're in school, since they are expensive and most school stores offer discounts to students.
 
amazon marketplace, if you don't have connections.

3/4 medical students get a Littmann ($160 or more) but ADCs, Welch Allyn, etc. are just as good and half the price.

Cardio III, Master Cardio, and Master Classic are the Littmanns I see.

ADC 600, 601, 602 are good.

I don't know other brands. Hopefully others will chime in. Spending more than 200 is crazy, and you don't need one yet if you aren't starting real soon.

Edit: see what your school says first. They may require your scope to meet certain guidelines.
 
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My parents haven't said anything, but I wouldn't be suprised if they were to get me one. they are quite wound up over the med school thing at the moment.
 
A stethoscope is something you really want to try out before you buy. Don't grab a Cardio III just b/c everyone else gets it.

If your parents are really insisting on buying you a good one, try to find a distributor that carries them and will let you check them out in person.
 
Contribute to the ruination of modern retail stores. Go to a medical supply store, try them out, then go home and buy whichever one you preferred on ebay.

That said, I prefer either of the high end Welch Allyns (Harvey Elite and DLX) to any of the Littmanns.
 
Depakote said:
A stethoscope is something you really want to try out before you buy. Don't grab a Cardio III just b/c everyone else gets it.

If your parents are really insisting on buying you a good one, try to find a distributor that carries them and will let you check them out in person.
Click to expand...

When you try it out, you are just looking for how it feels? If its comfortalbe for you? If it sounds good? Do I (awkwardly) ask a customer if I can listen to his/her heart beat?
 
ryserr21 said:
If it sounds good? Do I (awkwardly) ask a customer if I can listen to his/her heart beat?
Click to expand...


That's the beauty of the human body. We all have many of the same parts.


(Try placing it against your own chest)
 
I bought one of these. Best $29.99 I ever spent:

FP%20New4.jpg
 
Well my parents got me my first real stethoscope when I was 7 years old- very cute hot pink and high quality... I messed up the diaphragm early in college so last year they got me the fisher price pink one and a new raspberry colored one... so in short- I love my scopes from my parents and thank them very much for them!

JackInTheBox said:
I bought one of these. Best $29.99 I ever spent:

FP%20New4.jpg
Click to expand...
 
rogerwilco said:
That's the beauty of the human body. We all have many of the same parts.


(Try placing it against your own chest)
Click to expand...

haha, that would work too (although it would go against my 6th grade gfs declaration that I have no heart after we broke up).

But say I do it and I find out that I do in fact have a heart...... great, I can hear my heart beat. I still dont really know how to evaluate the product. I want to know as much as possible so I'm not suckered in to buying a super expensive one for no reason by a sneaky salesman.
 
ryserr21 said:
So my birthday is coming up soon, and Xmas is also just around the corner. My dad half jokingly but half seriously through out the idea of getting me a stethoscope for Xmas. While I laughed at the idea, I told him I had no idea where to even begin gathering info about which stethoscope to buy and for that reason I asked him not to get me one.

So, has anybody elses parents insisted on getting a stethoscope as a gift?

More importantly, how do you go about getting a stethoscope? I'm guessing the schools dont provide them, and just as with any product i'm sure there are varying qualities and prices and I'm sure there is a brand or a type that is most common/has the best reviews or whatever. So what should you be looking for in a stethoscope and at what point is the increase in price not really worth the increase in value of the product?
Click to expand...

Well, I think there are also some med schools that just give you one at matriculation (the basic Littman one mostly, I think), usually donated by the alumni society or whatever. I know Sinai does this, and I think UCSD does too if I recall correctly. I'll bet a lot more do it, too. I'd look into that first- although if you do want a fancier stethoscope, you could give the free one out when you get it or something?
 
waiting for apple to release iStethoscope
 
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A lot of schools have reps from Littman, Welch Allyn, etc. come in with demo models and offer group discounts, so I wouldn't buy until then.
 
My mom bought me one a while ago, in April...supposedly it's pretty good quality...kinda weird though since I hadn't even applied to med school when she got it for me.
 
kevinmw5 said:
My mom bought me one a while ago, in April...supposedly it's pretty good quality...kinda weird though since I hadn't even applied to med school when she got it for me.
Click to expand...

haha so not only do we have overachieving pre-med students, we have overachieving pre-med parents ...
 
bluesmd said:
haha so not only do we have overachieving pre-med students, we have overachieving pre-med parents ...
Click to expand...

or just very supportive- like i mentioned before my parents got me my first one when I was 7... that is when I said I wanted to be a doctor... they got me that and tons of anatomy posters for my room it was great! The only other "career" I considered was joining the circus in middle school and my mother got me a unicycle, juggling stuff, etc...

my parents are supportive and I cherish the relationship with them immensely
 
ryserr21 said:
haha, that would work too (although it would go against my 6th grade gfs declaration that I have no heart after we broke up).

But say I do it and I find out that I do in fact have a heart...... great, I can hear my heart beat. I still dont really know how to evaluate the product. I want to know as much as possible so I'm not suckered in to buying a super expensive one for no reason by a sneaky salesman.
Click to expand...

haha:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
My dad is getting me one, for two reasons. First of all, he's a doc and he has one that has been with him for his entire career. Second of all, I don't want anything... I told my parents that maybe a new pair of dress shoes and a couple more ties. I haven't had time to covet goodies this semester. I'm sure there are some nice videogames that I'll never hear of.
 
I use a disposable one at the clinic I work at.

I am poor. The doc tested it out and gave me the okay.
 
If all you're doing is taking BPs, a Fisher-Price one will probably do just fine.
 
don't jump on the cardiology III bandwagon. my school actually recommends the $60 Littman (Master Classic?). apparently, that's all you need. most of my classmates purchased this model.

i'm on scholarship and get reimbursed for equipment, so i got a pricier Welch Allyn Elite. i like it.
 
Last edited:
ryserr21 said:
you got ripped off! The top left corner says its 7.99!!
Click to expand...

i think we have bigger issues here...it's the top Right corner...:D
 
ryserr21 said:
you got ripped off! The top left corner says its 7.99!!
Click to expand...

dude1344 said:
I think you got ripped off buddy. It clearly says it's a bargain price of 7.99! :p
Click to expand...

$7.99 after price cut :p

Big Lots is a discount store that's pretty much just one step up from the Salvation Army. They sell all sorts of useless junk, excluding completely awesome doctor's kits :D
 
KSDeacon said:
i think we have bigger issues here...it's the top Right corner...:D
Click to expand...

No, its the right side of the picture, but the top left corner of the box (which is what i was saying). It must be the anatomist in me that made me describe it that way :)
 
We actually got ours from the school via an alumni donation, which I thought was a nice gesture :) So we all have the same Cardio III's, lol.
 
By the way, it's possible that the poster of the Fisher Price set lives in Canada, where 7.99 USD translated to 29.99 CAD.

You know, due to the very steep exchange rate. And the grizzly bears.
 
stokes_early.jpg


Do they still make these?

I want this one because it totally goes with my personality.
 
To throw in my $0.02...get the Littman Cardio III. It has good sound, is easy to use, and you can convert the peds side to a bell. My school requires that you have a separate bell and diapragm.

For a good place to get one: allheart.com usually has good deals-I got my diagnostic kit there as well.
 
ryserr21 said:
Just in case deacon missed the first comment. :D



Just in case Deacon missed the second comment. :D
Click to expand...


dominated. absolutely dominated.:oops:
 
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