Stethoscope Question

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Which Stethoscope is the Best Present for an Incoming Med Student?

  • Littmann® Cardiology III

    Votes: 63 80.8%

  • Littmann® Classic II S.E.

    Votes: 12 15.4%

  • ADC 602 Dual Head Cardiology Stethoscope

    Votes: 3 3.8%
  • Total voters
    78
the cheapie.

i really don't notice a difference between my WA elite and the classic II large enough to justify the price difference.

don't fall into the trap of thinking a more expensive steth gives you a huge advantage. for my pleb ears, it's marginal at best.
 
mkerr said:
the cheapie.

i really don't notice a difference between my WA elite and the classic II large enough to justify the price difference.

don't fall into the trap of thinking a more expensive steth gives you a huge advantage. for my pleb ears, it's marginal at best.
Click to expand...
Truth... 25 bucks will get you what you need
 
mkerr said:
the cheapie.

i really don't notice a difference between my WA elite and the classic II large enough to justify the price difference.

don't fall into the trap of thinking a more expensive steth gives you a huge advantage. for my pleb ears, it's marginal at best.
Click to expand...


Just because you don't hear the difference now doesn't mean you won't hear it later. Stethoscopes last forever, get a good one and it's one less thing to worry about the rest of your life.
 
I guess people judge you pretty hardcore if you get the wrong kind. At most places I know, the LC3s are the standard issue scopes, but I've seen cardiology faculty use the crappy fischer-price kind you get in a cereal box.
 
I have a classic II and recently got a cardiology III, I notice the difference a lot! You will have your steth a long time and it might be nice to just get a good one now and get used to how it sounds rather than to get any old one now and then have to upgrade later. Most med students have the classic II but a lot have a master classic, cardiology III etc so you wouldn't look out of place whatever you go for.
 
I picked up the Master Cardiology one. I didn't want to be handicapped when trying to hear things for the first time.
 
I love my Welch Allyn Harvey Elite. You don't have to drink the Littmann kool-aid to get a good steth.:meanie:


To the OP, while I think the idea of giving a steth is a nice idea, it might be better to let your friend try them out first and see which one they like the best.
 
Jolie South said:
I love my Welch Allyn Harvey Elite. You don't have to drink the Littmann kool-aid to get a good steth.:meanie:


To the OP, while I think the idea of giving a steth is a nice idea, it might be better to let your friend try them out first and see which one they like the best.
Click to expand...
Yea, I also have the WAH Elite just because I refuse to partake in the kool-aid (I think I'm the only one in my class with one), not to mention it's a great steth.
 
I somehow wound up with a Harvey DLX, and I'm going to get a lot of flak for it when I'm on the wards. Stupid 3 head arrangement crap...*grumble*
 
Jolie South said:
I love my Welch Allyn Harvey Elite. You don't have to drink the Littmann kool-aid to get a good steth.:meanie:

To the OP, while I think the idea of giving a steth is a nice idea, it might be better to let your friend try them out first and see which one they like the best.
Click to expand...

Haha, you just said everything I was going to. Loved my WA Elite.

I will say I have a 4th year friend going into meds/peds who likes her ADC 602.

MilkmanAl said:
I somehow wound up with a Harvey DLX, and I'm going to get a lot of flak for it when I'm on the wards. Stupid 3 head arrangement crap...*grumble*
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Dude, I have a friend at tcom with one of those. I guess it can double as a flail if the patient gets rowdy.
 
Don't buy a stethoscope until you find out if the school is providing them throughsome donation or another. it's not unheard of.
 
Dude, I have a friend at tcom with one of those. I guess it can double as a flail if the patient gets rowdy.
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Seriously. If they could find a way to make the lumens look like a chain, it'd be perfect. They might have to add a spike or something just for good measure.
 
I have Littman Cardiology III (for use prehospital), I noticed a huge difference between the Littman and my last one (can't remember name), but also I'm trying to listen over the engine and the normal sounds of moving down the road. Not sure how much of a difference you're going to notice in a quiet exam room, or class room.
 
There are several of us pitching in to buy this, so price is by no means an issue. We are looking for quality. Thanks for all of the input guys! 🙂👍
 
Jolie South said:
I love my Welch Allyn Harvey Elite. You don't have to drink the Littmann kool-aid to get a good steth.:meanie:


To the OP, while I think the idea of giving a steth is a nice idea, it might be better to let your friend try them out first and see which one they like the best.
Click to expand...

👍
 
Jolie South said:
I love my Welch Allyn Harvey Elite. You don't have to drink the Littmann kool-aid to get a good steth.:meanie:


To the OP, while I think the idea of giving a steth is a nice idea, it might be better to let your friend try them out first and see which one they like the best.
Click to expand...



Bingo. Although I probably don't know what I'm listening for at this point, the WA Harvey Elite was an easy decision. I tried it out and compared it to the Littmann Cardio III and even the volume of sound was better in the WA to me (I have very mild hearing loss from years of playing a loud musical instrument).

Cardio III is the knee-jerk response to any stethoscope inquiry, but I much prefer the Harvey Elite.
 
Of the one's listed, the Cardiology III would be my vote. My wife is an internist and she uses this stethoscope. I used one, too, when I was working EMS. It does a great job.

When I started medical school I picked up a Littmann Cardiology II (ebay) and sent it to Littmann for refurbishing (and longer tubing). It's absolutely the bees-knees. My old Cardiology III is resting in the closet at home.
 
I had a littman master classic two on my cardio rotation last year (3rd) and the doc was like, you really need a dual head scope, so I rush ordered a littman cardiology three (the kool aid scope), and I can ABSOLUTELY tell the difference between the two. I was on a peds cardio rotation. I had bought a littman peds scope, thinking it would be better, but I gave up on it, going back to my LC3... So as far as within the Littman family, the cardiology 3 scope is the best in my opinion. Can I compare it to other brands? nope... so I'm not going to say it's better or worse than those.
 
Is there currently a stethoscope made that will allow me to effectively auscultate a really fat person? Once the patient gets over 3 bills, I can't hear ****.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
Is there currently a stethoscope made that will allow me to effectively auscultate a really fat person? Once the patient gets over 3 bills, I can't hear ****.
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That's probably what those $300+ electronically amplified scopes are for. There's only so much you can do with an acoustic device.
 
rogerwilco said:
Unscrew one of the heads, it'll be less conspicuous.
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You could fill the hole left after you removed one of the heads with epoxy or superglue. That would block air and allow the scope to work again...although a two headed scope with the heads at a funny angle to each other might just look worse than a 3 headed one...
 
GeraldMonroe said:
You could fill the hole left after you removed one of the heads with epoxy or superglue. That would block air and allow the scope to work again...although a two headed scope with the heads at a funny angle to each other might just look worse than a 3 headed one...
Click to expand...



You wouldn't need to worry about filling the hole, the rotating thingamajig for the heads does a good job of isolating sound to a specific "channel" for that head. So no problems there. The off-center heads might look a little funny, but still probably less so than the Cerberus Scope.
 
jonb12997 said:
I had a littman master classic two on my cardio rotation last year (3rd) and the doc was like, you really need a dual head scope, so I rush ordered a littman cardiology three (the kool aid scope), and I can ABSOLUTELY tell the difference between the two. I was on a peds cardio rotation. I had bought a littman peds scope, thinking it would be better, but I gave up on it, going back to my LC3... So as far as within the Littman family, the cardiology 3 scope is the best in my opinion. Can I compare it to other brands? nope... so I'm not going to say it's better or worse than those.
Click to expand...

Aww, my mom got so excited about me getting accepted that she bought me a Master Cardiology scope...she was so happy to give it to me. Now I'll have to get another one with the peds head 🙁

...but considering she's a neonatal NP, I would think she would have given that a little bit more thought. Oops.
 
sarahl86 said:
Aww, my mom got so excited about me getting accepted that she bought me a Master Cardiology scope...she was so happy to give it to me. Now I'll have to get another one with the peds head 🙁

...but considering she's a neonatal NP, I would think she would have given that a little bit more thought. Oops.
Click to expand...

It should come with an pediatric adapter that you can put on for your peds rotation or just carry in your pocket during your peds rotation to slip on to listen to the the smaller little turds.

I would go for the Littman Cardiology III, it's probably the most popular scope for med students. I like mine, and you can definitely tell the difference at this stage in your training between a good stethoscope and a lesser quality stethoscope. Although cardiologists can probably hear anything with a fisher price quality scope, we can't because we have no idea what we're listening to.

The other nice feature about it is that you can screw off the pediatric side and convert it to a traditional bell, which is something that you cannot do with the Welch Allyn or any of the other brands. Just a thought.
 
I have a welch-allyn harvey elite that GOMA gave us when we enrolled. That's "georgia osteopathic medical association"and as far as I can tell, they exist to provide stethoscopes to first-year students of all osteopathic medical schools in Georgia.

I've had the opportunity to listen to a total of like 3 actual pathologic conditions so far, and a bunch of my classmates who are normal on all exams, so I still am not really sure what I'm listening for.

But I do know that my harvey elite does not allow for much access to the inner-audio of fat people. I can't hear a thing.

Also, one of the docs I used to work with in the ED back home got one of those electronic stethoscopes, and he said he could hear **** in the next room. That's cool if you're in the CIA, or James Bond, but not much practical use.
 
I also recommend the harvey elite. It is a great stethoscope, in my experience about equal to the cardio III. However, the one good thing about it is that you never have to worry about misplacing it, because no one else around you will have one.
 
silas2642 said:
It should come with an pediatric adapter that you can put on for your peds rotation or just carry in your pocket during your peds rotation to slip on to listen to the the smaller little turds.

I would go for the Littman Cardiology III, it's probably the most popular scope for med students. I like mine, and you can definitely tell the difference at this stage in your training between a good stethoscope and a lesser quality stethoscope. Although cardiologists can probably hear anything with a fisher price quality scope, we can't because we have no idea what we're listening to.

The other nice feature about it is that you can screw off the pediatric side and convert it to a traditional bell, which is something that you cannot do with the Welch Allyn or any of the other brands. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Not true, the Welch Allyn Elite has a traditional bell and diaphragm that you can toggle between simply by turning the end. You can switch the adult diaphragm to a pediatric one as the need arises.
 
sarahl86 said:
Aww, my mom got so excited about me getting accepted that she bought me a Master Cardiology scope...she was so happy to give it to me. Now I'll have to get another one with the peds head 🙁

...but considering she's a neonatal NP, I would think she would have given that a little bit more thought. Oops.
Click to expand...
I never used a peds head when I was on peds. I know a lot of pediatricians that don't either. The peds head transmits less sound due to the smaller diaphragm making it harder to hear. The only time I ever used a small diaphragm was in the NICU and 99% of the time they don't want you using your stethoscope there anyways because they don't want to transmit disease, so they provide one for each bed.
 
Your auscultation skills will be so horrible that the quality of the stethoscope doesn't matter completely.
 
About a year ago I wrote why I prefer the Harvey: The sound quality is much, much better compared to the Littman. It has interchangeable ear pieces that come in various varieties of stiffness so that the user can choose based on comfort level. Finally, the diaphragm can be easily changed to a pediatric version. All I have to do is unscrew the adult version and then replace it with a pediatric one to convert my stethoscope into a listening device for the kids.
 
I really don't have any idea about stethoscopes, I am in between the pre-med and med student status. But my mom's a cardio nurse and got a Littman Master Cardiology as a gift for helping out with a study on her ward. Does any body know how good is that one, in comparison to the ones you guys mentioned?


Shes had it probably since I was in elementary school, and always said it was going to be mine when I went to med school....
 
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I'm pretty sure my LCIII came w/ multiple earpieces too...and our school keeps the classic II to loan out and it stinks compared to cardio III. Haven't even seen cerberus in person, just in pics.

The only downside I would say Cardio III has is the tubes are on the fat side, it makes it harder to stuff into a pocket. On the other hand, it's not great to be squishing it, so it forces me to keep it around my neck and not kinking the tubes.

Also, mine was a gift and engraved, and I think it looks a little hokey -on the other hand, if I lose it...
 
Another plug for the Welch Allyn Harvey Elite.

It sounds as clear to me at the Littman Cardio III and appears to be more durable over time, noted by a friend who had a Litt (though to be fair, both companies have really good warranty coverage.) I also don't like the tunable diaphragms as much (which is what you have with both the LCIII and the LMCII), prefer having a separate diaphragm and bell (you can see previous debates about this on SDN).

The extra bonuses for me:
-Somewhat less likely to get stolen because fewer people have them and they are less known
- Much easier to find on EBay for a good price. New Littmans sell on Ebay for more than AllHeart.com (buh?!), whereas I got my WA new in box for $70.

That being said, I suggest getting your hands on both and sticking them in your ears. Personal comfort will make the difference more than the sound quality.
 
The Welch Allyn Harveys seems to be like "The Wire" of stethoscopes. Most likely a superior product, but only really appreciated by an elite few.

I understand the trade off is that the Harvey uses a ribbed diaphragm that is less sensitive to extraneous noise, but that the perceived volume of the scope's output is less. A better signal/noise ratio with the catch that you need to have sensitive ears.

P.S. : yes, yes, I know : the best stethoscope is one wielded by a world class cardiologist who plays violin for a symphony in his spare time. But, even the world's best violinists benefit from using a stradivarius.

A stethoscope is an acoustic instrument, and there must be an ideal design for one.
 
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GeraldMonroe said:
The Welch Allyn Harveys seems to be like "The Wire" of stethoscopes. Most likely a superior product, but only really appreciated by an elite few.

I understand the trade off is that the Harvey uses a ribbed diaphragm that is less sensitive to extraneous noise, but that the perceived volume of the scope's output is less. A better signal/noise ratio with the catch that you need to have sensitive ears.

P.S. : yes, yes, I know : the best stethoscope is one wielded by a world class cardiologist who plays violin for a symphony in his spare time. But, even the world's best violinists benefit from using a stradivarius.

A stethoscope is an acoustic instrument, and there must be an ideal design for one.
Click to expand...

it comes with a regular diaphragm as well. you can easily switch them.
 
I, along with most of my class, stand by the Littmann Cardiology III. Although a couple do get the Littmann Master Cardiology, they just end up looking silly. 🙂
 
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