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Is your status that you've just been accepted accurate? If so, the cheaper classic III is more than sufficient. Many of my classmates have it and are happy with it. As a newbie, you're not going to have the skills to tell the difference between the two for a very long time.
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deleted600623
Yes I start in the fall this year. But that's what I figured. I just wasn't sure if learning with the Cardiology IV was that much better than the classic III.
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3 is good enough. You dont need master cardiology probably would be better for when you become more experienced in your training
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deleted407021
I use the Classic III and it’s very well made. It should last and plenty of attendings carry one.
Get a cheaper steth
Tbh I’m a cards fellow in my last year of training and while I considered buying some of the 500 dollar stethoscopes even I’m glad I didn’t. Waste of money.
I think your best bet is something that allows you to hear murmurs, bowel sounds, and lung sounds with reasonable clarity. Unfortunately although at some point the clinical exam probably had a higher role in diagnosis, I will never hang my hat on saying someone has severe AS or severe MR based upon the sound of their murmur - echo will always be needed for diagnosis. Some may disagree.
Tbh I’m a cards fellow in my last year of training and while I considered buying some of the 500 dollar stethoscopes even I’m glad I didn’t. Waste of money.
I think your best bet is something that allows you to hear murmurs, bowel sounds, and lung sounds with reasonable clarity. Unfortunately although at some point the clinical exam probably had a higher role in diagnosis, I will never hang my hat on saying someone has severe AS or severe MR based upon the sound of their murmur - echo will always be needed for diagnosis. Some may disagree.
Go old school and get a tin funnel and rubber tube
what about your ear-to-patient's chest?
MS1 here.
Odds are you will have a hard enough time getting all of the auscultatory findings straight when they are played back to you as recordings. The minimal advantage that the premium stethoscopes give will not be appreciable to your (and my) untrained ears.
Just get one in a cool color and enjoy learning how to use it! 😎
Odds are you will have a hard enough time getting all of the auscultatory findings straight when they are played back to you as recordings. The minimal advantage that the premium stethoscopes give will not be appreciable to your (and my) untrained ears.
Just get one in a cool color and enjoy learning how to use it! 😎
Yes and when you're doing research in a lab, please master the skills of mouth pipetting.
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deleted407021
There’re no humility points to be gained from buying a cheap, poorly made stethoscope. Just go for a good basic littmann that will hold up. Seeing some for <$90 on Amazon.
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deleted600623
Haha that's what I was thinking too. I may not know how to gather the proper auscultatory findings yet but I want to be able to actually hear them well. The classic III sounds sufficient.
M3 perspective: Love my cardio 4 and I also use a cardio 3 as backup (it lives in my car for when I forget the 4). I only have two because my grandmother bought me the 4 and our school gave us 3s. The cardio 3 is good enough for a whole career I’m sure. I do like the finish on the tubing of the 4, it’s quite louder to me also. Hardly matters though.
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deleted87051
I’ve lost more stethoscopes than I can count. I prefer the cheap Littman lightweights. The dual sided ones are annoying because it will invariably be on the wrong side when you put it on the patient.
Save your money for this....
Butterfly iQ - Personal ultrasound - Butterfly Network
Save your money for this....
Butterfly iQ - Personal ultrasound - Butterfly Network
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Unless your school is willing to buy one, they're only available when you're fully licensed right?
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deleted407021
If money is not an issue, get the 4. If it is, get the 3 or the ADSCOPE brand. I have the ADSCOPE from amazon and it's great.
For me it didn't matter what stethoscope I got; couldn't hear s***.
Classic III is great for med students. It's a good bit lighter and more flexible than the Cardiology and is therefore easier to stuff in a white coat pocket and more comfortable if you're the around-the-neck type. Nobody will expect you to hear anything softer than a grade III or IV murmur, and if you can't hear that with a Classic, you're not going to hear it with anything else.
Any answer that isn’t: welch allyn harvey dlx is wrong
That is all
That is all
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deleted938090
I'm curious to hear how auscultation aficionados (sorry, this sounds too funny) describe the differences between cheaper stethoscopes - what kind of sounds are clearer in higher end ones?
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Figs scrubs and US smartphones. The future is here yall
Make sure your school doesn't require you to buy a set of equipment. My state school does.
3 is fine
Uhh, it's not at all unlikely to be expected to hear a II, or a murmur on an infant with a hummingbird heart. Agreed on the rest.
Fair enough, but in my experience it's more of an impressive feat than an expectation for a med student to hear a grade II, unless the resident/attending listens first and says "hey listen to this murmur."
I suppose a 4th year should be picking them up, especially on medicine or peds, but in my decidedly non-stethoscope-toting field nobody would care.
MDL was $15. I can hear murmurs, bowel sounds, etc. May need something better depending on specialty but didn't want to fork out the money until I knew I needed it.
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Med school gave us inexpensive MFDs. I've used friends' Littmans and while there is a slight difference, it's not enough for me to fork over a pile of money to get one.
M1 here--I went all out and bought the cardiology IV, but kind of regret forking over that much money because it isn't really necessary. Most of the primary care attendings I work with have a III, and they use theirs all the time.
Also, OP, buy it in a fun color. I went for black because I didn't want to look tacky, but I've since regretted not getting a cool color or like the ones with the black earpieces or whatever. Especially since I spent so much money and will probably never replace it 🙁 My stethoscope is very boring and it always makes me sad.
Also, OP, buy it in a fun color. I went for black because I didn't want to look tacky, but I've since regretted not getting a cool color or like the ones with the black earpieces or whatever. Especially since I spent so much money and will probably never replace it 🙁 My stethoscope is very boring and it always makes me sad.
We have MFDs too and I hate them haha. I'm buying a litt 3 its honestly only like 120 and it is the single most important piece of equipment you will use as a physician. I mean you'll literally use it everyday for the rest of your career so I have no problem spending an extra 30 bucks on a good steth and kind of pissed our school short changed us. Every year before us got Litts, sooooo lame!
You should be able to get a Classic III for $60-80 or so. $120 is a horrible deal.
wordd thanks
Debated this last year and ended up going with the III. Really happy I didn’t spend double the amount of money tbh.
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deleted600623
That’s my thought as well! I don’t think it’s worth double the money right now. Especially with my very very untrained ears lol.
My school told us to get Cardiology IVs, so that's what I have. I like it, but I've never used anything else (except for the basically disposable ones that come with drug-store sphygmomanometers). I thought the $170 I spent on it was well worth it.
They are great. In all practicality it may be overkill but it's a nice, meaningful gift. At the very least you'll never have to wonder if it's the equipment's fault you can't hear the murmur. I have one and it sits in a closet somewhere at home so I can auscultate in case my dog has a spontaneous pneumothorax. Whenever I need a stethoscope (very rarely these days) I grab my Classic III from the locker in the hospital.
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deleted407021
What specialty are you in?
A niche surgical one not dealing with the heart or lungs
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deleted407021
I was going to guess general surgery, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of them carrying a stethoscope around lol
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Brought me to tears. I had not decided whether to take the MCAT again (Irma wreaked havoc on me in more than one way). It was his way of not-so-gently nudging me forward. Reminding me...
Not sure how I got such a great son but hit the lottery... absolutely better than a PowerBall win (though, that would be nice 😀 )
