Recommended stethoscope

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leviathan

leviathan

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Me and some friends are looking to buy a stethoscope for another friend of ours going to medical school this fall. Which stethoscope would you recommend for a medical student? We have $150 to spend, and the Littmann Classic looks good. However, the Cardiology III seems to be what everyone gets, and I wouldn't want to dissapoint her with a second rate stethoscope.
 
leviathan said:
Me and some friends are looking to buy a stethoscope for another friend of ours going to medical school this fall. Which stethoscope would you recommend for a medical student? We have $150 to spend, and the Littmann Classic looks good. However, the Cardiology III seems to be what everyone gets, and I wouldn't want to dissapoint her with a second rate stethoscope.
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Unless you are a cardiologist, there's no need to spend more than $100 on a stethoscopes. All those extra heart sounds are really hard to decipher anyway unless you are trully experience. Yes, 90% of my classmates have the CardioIII's but I have two basic littman's that work just fine. I'd say get her the Classic. That's a very nice one too and I'm sure she'll appreciate it.
 
Anthing Littmann is going to be fine. I think the CardioIII is nice b/c I think being able to flip the head is helpful in quite a few situations especially when your ears aren't trained.

BPs are easier with the bell, as is hearing carotid bruits (the first one I heard I literally could not hear it with the diaphragm). This might tag me as a supreme "newbie" but so be it.
 
leviathan said:
Me and some friends are looking to buy a stethoscope for another friend of ours going to medical school this fall. Which stethoscope would you recommend for a medical student? We have $150 to spend, and the Littmann Classic looks good. However, the Cardiology III seems to be what everyone gets, and I wouldn't want to dissapoint her with a second rate stethoscope.
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You can get the Cardio III for under $150. Try steeles.com and allheart.com. 🙂
 
Anybody who is anybody has a cardiology III
 
Master cardiology ftw
 
The Littmann Master Cardio rocks my socks off. And I have no desire ot be a cardiologist. Who wants to deal with turning their steth bell/diaphragm when they can just adjust the pressure they apply it with?

Actually, I just got it because it has the word "master" in it and that's what my girlfrien...nevermind.

But seriously, the Master Cardio is good, but so is any Littmann.
 
cunam_amoris said:
Actually, I just got it because it has the word "master" in it and that's what my girlfrien...nevermind.
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:laugh:
 
Check with your school first. Some universities have company reps that offer discounts the first few days of classes. Also, some schools have requirements as to the type of stethoscope that must be purchased. UMiami forces its students get a dual tube stethoscope with a bell and diaphragm head. In other words, all incoming freshmen have to buy the most expensive cardiology-grade stethoscopes around. From my experience with scopes, my preference is the Welch Allyn XYZ Harvey Elite model. It costs the same as the Littman Cardio III, but the sound is much better. I'm sure that if this thread hangs around on the boards for a few more days, KentW, an FP attending, will chime in to agree with my statement. The Welch Allyn is heavier, but the ear pieces are easier to manipulate, switching to a peds diaphragm is a breeze, and the sound quality has no comparison.

Of course, you could always get the electronic stethoscope with digital sound amplification. Allheart.com sells them at $400.
 
I'll second the Harvey Elite and I'll add that the Welch Allyn warranty's better than the Cardio III's. I used my Cardio III for a while but I've become an Elite convert, too.
 
Littmann Classic II is what I'm using. But it may be better to get the Cardio III. 😀
 
This is a very old thread, but I will say (in case anyone is looking at it today with a similar idea of purchasing one for themselves or a friend before med school) that usually the school will give the students a set of diagnostic tools as part of the curriculum. It's what the fees are for. At my school we were all issued Littman Cardio III's, nice opthalmo/otoscopes/panoptics, BP cuffs, Tuning Forks, Reflex Hammers, Penlights, ECG calipers, etc on day one.

So bear that fact in mind when thinking of buying before med-school.
 
SLC said:
This is a very old thread, but I will say (in case anyone is looking at it today with a similar idea of purchasing one for themselves or a friend before med school) that usually the school will give the students a set of diagnostic tools as part of the curriculum. It's what the fees are for. At my school we were all issued Littman Cardio III's, nice opthalmo/otoscopes/panoptics, BP cuffs, Tuning Forks, Reflex Hammers, Penlights, ECG calipers, etc on day one.

So bear that fact in mind when thinking of buying before med-school.
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This has not been the case for me and most med students I know at other schools. We were required to purchase pretty much all of those things on our own.
 
Pons Asinorum said:
Strong second-generation necrobump. Clinical respect will not depend on your stethoscope color. Get whatever you want.
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Unless you have any color than black, dark blue, dark green or other dark conservative color.

Right or wrong, stupid or not, having a hot pink or multicolored stethoscope will be judged.
 
mimelim said:
Unless you have any color than black, dark blue, dark green or other dark conservative color.

Right or wrong, stupid or not, having a hot pink or multicolored stethoscope will be judged.
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I had classmates with them. Didn't seem to be a problem. Competence and confidence trump stethoscope color.
 
TooMuchResearch said:
I had classmates with them. Didn't seem to be a problem. Competence and confidence trump stethoscope color.
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I never stated or implied that competency or confidence should be compared with stethoscope color. All else being equal, it can hurt in the wrong environment. It certainly won't help. (except maybe on peds)

Not that this matters much of anything in the grand scheme of things, but to be accurate...
 
tinylilron said:
Do you think one would ever have an issue with color? I am a first year and I think I would want to work with kids and maybe do primary care. I was thinking of getting this http://www.littmann.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Littmann/stethoscope/stethoscope-catalog/catalog/~/3M-Littmann-Cardiology-III-Stethoscope-Rainbow-Finish-Chestpiece-Lavender-Tube-27-inch-3158?N=5932256 3293867157&rt=d. Would patients and other doctors take me seriously though?
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That one is a little gaudy, no? Gold, lavender, and rainbow finish...it's a bit too much. I have a pink scope and haven't encountered any issues yet, but I've just done primary care so far and have peds and FM coming up. Considering possibly getting a more conservative one for later in the fall when I get out of this primary care stretch, but part of me also doesn't really care. I've had a couple (male) attendings poke fun at it and a couple (female) attendings compliment me on it, most people don't seem to care.
 
I have a cardio III from when I was a medic and a Harvey DLX dual head that I bought at the end of second year. While the Cardio III is certainly adequate, the DLX is a noticeable upgrade for me. The overall clarity is significantly improved without sacrificing loudness, and the bell is a million times better and works nicely for carotids. I got the DLX used on craigslist in new condition with the pediatric kit and extra diaphragms for $120.
 
I had an attending in peds with the rainbow finish one. Never heard a patient ask about it. I've never had anyone comment about my stethoscope color, teal I think it was called. I found a website that offered free engraving when I purchased mine. Many of the residents have asked where I got it done as they want it on their stereoscopes. They have nametags on theirs or some had writing, but the writing comes off with the cleaning and alcohol wipes. My engraving (of my name) has stayed throughout all of medical school and isn't noticeable to patients. No one could ever accidentally pick mine up and not realize that it wasn't theirs.
 
Keona said:
No one could ever accidentally pick mine up and not realize that it wasn't theirs.
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challenge_accepted.jpg
 
Keona said:
I had an attending in peds with the rainbow finish one. Never heard a patient ask about it. I've never had anyone comment about my stethoscope color, teal I think it was called. I found a website that offered free engraving when I purchased mine. Many of the residents have asked where I got it done as they want it on their stereoscopes. They have nametags on theirs or some had writing, but the writing comes off with the cleaning and alcohol wipes. My engraving (of my name) has stayed throughout all of medical school and isn't noticeable to patients. No one could ever accidentally pick mine up and not realize that it wasn't theirs.
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One of my med school classmates had her steth engraved, but it was really faint and hard to see since it looked like the rest of the writing on the bell. One of my cointerns went to one of the pet stores and got an engraved tag that she stuck on the metal tubing. It works pretty well for her.
 
Ismet said:
That one is a little gaudy, no? Gold, lavender, and rainbow finish...it's a bit too much. I have a pink scope and haven't encountered any issues yet, but I've just done primary care so far and have peds and FM coming up. Considering possibly getting a more conservative one for later in the fall when I get out of this primary care stretch, but part of me also doesn't really care. I've had a couple (male) attendings poke fun at it and a couple (female) attendings compliment me on it, most people don't seem to care.
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This is what mimelim is referring to. This could easily boomerang.
 
Ismet said:
I'd be more concerned about people silently judging and somehow influencing evals, rather than the people who are just poking fun but seem like they don't mind it.
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Emphasis on seem. Some attendings are more passive-aggressive. They won't get mad, but they'll poke fun to clue you in.
 
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