Stethoscopes

[Comfortdoc]

Can anyone recommend a good stethoscope. I don't want to pay too much, but I want it to be good enough for the next few years.

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[wylie313]

Can anyone recommend a good stethoscope. I don't want to pay too much, but I want it to be good enough for the next few years.

littman SE II classic affordable, and very popular among medical students, i have one and love it.

 

[Pyroclast]

If you can scrape up around $130, the Littman Cardio III seems to be the most commonly recommended stethoscope on these boards. I have one and I like it. Just make sure to buy online. It'll cost you around $190 at a store. Allheart.com has it on sale right now for $119.99, and they have a pretty good rep.

 

[taehong81]

i bought my littmann cardio III stethoscope on ebay for 100 dollars.

 

[Mark Forest]

If you can scrape up around $130, the Littman Cardio III seems to be the most commonly recommended stethoscope on these boards. I have one and I like it. Just make sure to buy online. It'll cost you around $190 at a store. Allheart.com has it on sale right now for $119.99, and they have a pretty good rep.

With a little ingenuity, I was able to build my own high-end stethoscope. I first started out by purchasing a latex-free 22" double-lumen tubing set (the same type the Littman Cardio III has), then I bought a high-quality milled stainless steel chest piece that was the same size exactly as the Cardio III. Finally, for $8 each I installed both adult and a pediatric Littman diaphragms. These are the same diaphragms that the Cardiology III has and they are tunable, so you don't need to use a bell on one side of your steth. Total cost: $59 plus shipping. I asked one of my teachers to compare my "Frankenstein" steth to her Littman Cardiology III and she told me it was identical in both volume and audio resolution. One final note: I have used four different makers of stethoscopes and IMO nothing compares to a Littman.

 

[pkwraith]

Cardio 3 is pretty much the gold standard for med students (see above).

 

[IlDestriero]

I tried them all as I always have money left over in my expense account.
Welch Allyn Harvey Elite.

 

[smq123]

Welch Allyn Harvey Elite.

Completely agree.

 

[NOsquid]

Cardiology II, used if you're lucky enough to find one

 

[sandiego1]

I'm about to start med school and have a cheap stethoscope from my work as an emt. A resident I spoke with advised me to use that until I decide which field I'm going into. He said that the cheap one would be fine for med school and that I should only buy a nice one if I decide to go into a field where I'd need a nice one. Thoughts?

 

[Abby_Normal]

I'm about to start med school and have a cheap stethoscope from my work as an emt. A resident I spoke with advised me to use that until I decide which field I'm going into. He said that the cheap one would be fine for med school and that I should only buy a nice one if I decide to go into a field where I'd need a nice one. Thoughts?

Talk to an upper year student at your school to see what you'll need on rotations, as requirements can vary a bit. I know at my school they pretty much don't care what you have for the first two years, but then some people end up needing to "upgrade" for clerkships.

 

[IlDestriero]

I'm about to start med school and have a cheap stethoscope from my work as an emt. A resident I spoke with advised me to use that until I decide which field I'm going into. He said that the cheap one would be fine for med school and that I should only buy a nice one if I decide to go into a field where I'd need a nice one. Thoughts?

You need a good stethoscope to take a quality H&P on your patients. The difference between a cheapo scope and a good one is night and day. You can use a cheap scope for basic info, like breath sounds +/-, but when you're making decisions on treatment, you need all the info. Is that a faint carotid bruit, is the patient responding to the bronchodialators? You need to know this. Get a nice quality scope for around $100 and you'll be golden. Nice xmas/birthday present.

 

[JackShephard MD]

I also recommend the cardio III: http://www.amazon.com/Littmann-3128-Cardiology-Stethoscope-Black/dp/B000F4UOXY

If you search around you may be able to find a deal.

I was shadowing a newly minted attending and she had used her stethoscope throughout med school and residency. Saving 50-70$ on something you can use for 7+ years isn't that big of a deal.

I'm about to start med school and have a cheap stethoscope from my work as an emt. A resident I spoke with advised me to use that until I decide which field I'm going into. He said that the cheap one would be fine for med school and that I should only buy a nice one if I decide to go into a field where I'd need a nice one. Thoughts?

I agree you could swing it with that one for the first 2 years. Then again, I would still buy a III, I know I will be using one in residency.

 

[GuerreDePlume]

I'm really not a fan of the tunable diaphragms. I wouldn't get it again.

 

[NOsquid]

^^

I agree, prefer the Cardiology II

 

[Mark Forest]

I also recommend the cardio III: http://www.amazon.com/Littmann-3128-Cardiology-Stethoscope-Black/dp/B000F4UOXY

If you search around you may be able to find a deal.

I was shadowing a newly minted attending and she had used her stethoscope throughout med school and residency. Saving 50-70$ on something you can use for 7+ years isn't that big of a deal.


I agree you could swing it with that one for the first 2 years. Then again, I would still buy a III, I know I will be using one in residency.

Excellent point. This is what I considered when I bought a steth for med school. Even if you save a whole $70 on a scope and even if you only get 7 years out of it, what have you really saved? Compared to the cost of attending med school, what is an extra $10 a year for a top stethoscope?