What stethoscope do you use?

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Daydreamer03710 said:
Did you guys find that you used yours a lot first semester? I'm trying to decide if I should buy one now or wait for Christmas
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It definitely depends on your school. At Cornell, we're required to have stethoscopes when we start and we use them in the fall semester of first year 🙂
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felinelvr44 said:
I've heard it's not a great idea to get the tubing engraved and that it would void the warranty? I got mine engraved on the bell (just first and last name, no Dr.) and had it done when I ordered it. I don't remember where my mom bought it from but here's an example of engraving you can get when you purchase it: http://www.allheart.com/3m-littmann-stethoscope/p/31273134/
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I doubt it voids the warranty if Littman does it themselves before sending it to you. :shrug:
And my engraving looks completely different. Hmmm. Was that an outside company (not Littman)?
 
Emiloo4 said:
I doubt it voids the warranty if Littman does it themselves before sending it to you. :shrug:
And my engraving looks completely different. Hmmm. Was that an outside company (not Littman)?
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I didn't realize Littmann did the engraving! Perhaps it's for third party tube engraving? I can't remember where on earth I read that.

:shrug: My engraving looks similar to the example I posted. I assume it was done by allheart or wherever my mom got it from and not from Littmann.
 
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jmo1012 said:
depends on your program - its a big yes at SGU, but we get Littmann classics as part of our book package 1st term
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Yeah. I'm fortunate in that my school gives out Littmann Classic II during the white coat ceremony... my classmates need not worry! But I had purchased my Cardiology III after getting waitlisted in a previous application as a way to steel my resolve, and to get a practical suck-it-up gift for myself 😛
 
Got my scope yesterday! I am in love! so glad I went with the rainbow bell!
 
I own the MDF one and I've been pretty satisfied with it. I work as an Emergency tech so I use it all the time. I got tired of not having one and useing the super cheap ones work had. All the techs have their own.

The other day I did use one of the vets and the sound was much clearer but for the money my MDF works pretty well.
 
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cturtle10 said:
Has anyone used this one:http://www.reddingmedical.com/stethoscopes/veterinary/veterinary-stethoscope-1392
It doesn't come in any pretty colors, but I'm wondering if it's better suited for veterinary use.
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i think the biggest "issue" with this one is the tubing length. this is probably good for a large animal practitioner because its long and easy to get underneath without being too close, but ideally the shorter the tubing length, the better the sound quality will be. probably not so great for learning with (i'd think it would be harder to catch abnormals with especially when you're just starting out) and cumbersome to keep with you
 
Cardiology III in red with engraved name on the bell. A classmate got a bunch of us together and we ordered in bulk and used every trick in the book to drive the price down, so I got mine for $125. Thank you Emily!
 
I've bought all of my stethescopes from Medisave and been very pleased with them.

My Littmann Cardio III is what I carry on me at all times. But I have a Littmann Classic II infant that I really like for cats.
 
Maybe you more knowledgeable people can help me 🙂

What stethoscopes are best for large animals, and how do they differ from the Littman Cardio 3?
Is it possible to get one that crosses over between large and small animal?

In vet school I'm going to mainly be tracking large/food animal, but will be working with cats and dogs during summers and breaks. As a poor student, I'd prefer to be able to stick with one stethoscope 🙂
 
I may be mistaken, but with the Cardio III, the larger side is for adults, and the smaller side is for pediatrics. Wouldn't that work for large animal vs. small animal? And with the tunable bell, you can hear even more different tones. It sounds like it may be a perfect scope for vets too, except the price tag.

If an (almost) med student can chime in here, I just ordered the chocolate/copper Littmann Cardio III from allheart.com with the tube engraved with just my last name. It should be here next week. 🙂

dsoz
 
The only difference between a stethy made for large animals specifically is gonna be the length of the tubing. It will be longer. The bell will be identical to anything else.

And the pediatric head is more for puppies and kittens than dog and cats - the normal bell is ideal for most grown animals.

http://www.littmann.com/wps/portal/...pe-catalog/catalog/?N=5932256+4294958394&rt=d

There's the longer tubing one. I know plenty of LA folks that get by with a normal sort of stethoscope, though.
 
dsoz said:
I may be mistaken, but with the Cardio III, the larger side is for adults, and the smaller side is for pediatrics. Wouldn't that work for large animal vs. small animal? And with the tunable bell, you can hear even more different tones. It sounds like it may be a perfect scope for vets too, except the price tag.

If an (almost) med student can chime in here, I just ordered the chocolate/copper Littmann Cardio III from allheart.com with the tube engraved with just my last name. It should be here next week. 🙂

dsoz
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that taller bell is much more annoying to shove up in the axillary region of LAs
 
There's something called the littman master cardio which has a flatter bell with two finger grips. It's easier to grip and slide under large animals. But anything will work honestly. I'd maybe not get the cardio III for LA bc of how high the pediatric bell is but I'm sure you can make it work. I'll be using my III for food animal :shrug:
 
Ok thanks guys, I'll keep your words in mind. I just didn't want to shoot myself in the foot when it came time to purchase one, but it sounds like I could probably make due with whatever I get. Thanks!
 
How often do you guys use the smaller "pediatric" head of your stethoscope? I'm looking into buying a used Littman Master Classic II, but it doesn't have the double head and I'm not sure if it would be better to get something a little more versatile (the MC II is mostly for large animal, or so I've heard) for now. Thoughts?
 
I use mine pretty frequently since I volunteer at the shelters several times a month and do PEs on tiny little kittens. I've also used it while shadowing in our exotics department and on my own piggies. I've also used as a vet assistant in similar situations.
 
FWIW, I did physicals on six ~800g ferrets over the summer with my own, non-pediatric stethoscope head and it worked just fine. Might have been a bit easier with a smaller head but by no means was it impossible. For school, there isn't really anything you'd use the pediatric head on anyway so unless you forsee yourself working with exotics when you're out, probably not really worth the extra money, in my opinion. (The SA hospital I was at back home had a clinic pediatric head that could be used, but even with a good exotic case load it wasn't used all that much, even for puppies and kittens.)
 
that redhead said:
FWIW, I did physicals on six ~800g ferrets over the summer with my own, non-pediatric stethoscope head and it worked just fine. Might have been a bit easier with a smaller head but by no means was it impossible. For school, there isn't really anything you'd use the pediatric head on anyway so unless you forsee yourself working with exotics when you're out, probably not really worth the extra money, in my opinion. (The SA hospital I was at back home had a clinic pediatric head that could be used, but even with a good exotic case load it wasn't used all that much, even for puppies and kittens.)
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Agreed. I've worked with kittens and not felt like I truly needed the pediatric head. Maybe for really small exotics it would be nice but even then I'm not convinced it's a necessity.

That said, I have both a MC 2 and the Cardio 3, and the latter is my working scope. I like it MUCH more.

But everyone has different scope prefs. And in the end you don't need anything more than a really cheap scope to get through vet school. I doubt I would have purchased my Cardio 3 if it hadn't been a gift.
 
I have a Master Cardiology black edition. I love it! I don't have it engraved, but am looking into it.
 
LetItSnow said:
And in the end you don't need anything more than a really cheap scope to get through vet school.
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True, but I'm thinking it might be better to get the more expensive Cardio 3 and have it last me well past graduation, rather than getting the cheaper MC and having to upgrade later.

Either I buy the used MC II for myself for $80 now or I ask for a nice Cardio 3 for Christmas. Decisions, decisions.
 
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I have the cardio 3 and I love it. I plan on doing small animal sx so I like having both sides of the stethoscope. I was torn between that one and the $80 basic Littman, but I got this one as a gift and I'm really glad I did. It's super easy to use and I've already been able to pick up on heart murmurs -- pretty exciting as a first year!
 
LetItSnow said:
And in the end you don't need anything more than a really cheap scope to get through vet school. I doubt I would have purchased my Cardio 3 if it hadn't been a gift.
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Yup! I'm stoked that I have my really nice one but our clinical skills professor even told us to buy a super cheap one because she lost something like five when she was a student.
 
I appreciate that this was bumped. 🙂 I was just talking to my parents about potentially getting a stethoscope for Christmas.
 
another plug for the cardio III - love it! i personally use the peds bell on smaller things but you could get away without it. i think it depends on whether or not you think you'll use it. i worked with a lot of interns and rarely saw them use it, but i love it for small dogs and cats plus pocket pet exotics.
 
I really wish Littmann had a "build your own scope" feature. I'd totally get the Cardio 3 but with longer tubing for LA use, in dark purple with smoke finish (or black with copper finish), with my name engraved on the bell with room left to add "Dr." in four years. Alas, none of these things can be done.
 
BlackDog17 said:
I really wish Littmann had a "build your own scope" feature. I'd totally get the Cardio 3 but with longer tubing for LA use, in dark purple with smoke finish (or black with copper finish), with my name engraved on the bell with room left to add "Dr." in four years. Alas, none of these things can be done.
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Ultrascopes are great for customization. I admire our one doc's all the time. I've used it on occasion and I would totally get one if I wasn't set already.

Edit: Most of the time you don't need the pediatric bell. It also depends what you plan on doing though. If you see a lot of dwarf hamsters and canaries in your future, get something with both. It sucks trying to monitor a hamster and hearing gut sounds at the same time. 😛

Also, Ultrascopes have the option for separate heads, which is a good thing and also a bad thing if you're prone to losing stuff.
 
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BlackDog17 said:
How often do you guys use the smaller "pediatric" head of your stethoscope? I'm looking into buying a used Littman Master Classic II, but it doesn't have the double head and I'm not sure if it would be better to get something a little more versatile (the MC II is mostly for large animal, or so I've heard) for now. Thoughts?
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On my cardio III, I use the pediatric head all the time(more so than the adult size). The large diaphragm is great for lung sounds, but in smaller patients i think is too big. It's easy to hear heart sounds and murmurs with it, but when its bigger than the heart you can't really localize a murmur with it.
If I am going to be listening to cats all day then I grab my littmann infant.
 
Thanks for the input, everyone! I decided to go ahead and buy myself the used Master Classic II. The person selling it offered it to me for $70 and that was a deal I couldn't refuse. Seems to work just fine, though I'm a little bummed I didn't get to customize anything. 😛
 
I use a Littmann Cardiology STC, mostly because it was what I could get from my mom who was a trauma RN. But I love it, I've considered a Master Cardiology if/when I need to replace it but I feel like I get better sealing sound with the STC compared to the other Littmanns my coworkers use. It's softer on the edges so I can press it in tight to the chest and not upset the patient, lets me block out the surgical recoveries screaming and such when doing frequent TPRs in the critical care section.
 
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