I received an unexpected scholarship and have decided that I would like to get a new stethoscope for nursing clinicals. I’m currently using a $10 sprague from allheart but the tube rub makes it very difficult to listen for low frequency sounds. I also have trouble hearing the apical pulse on COPD patients. I’ve had the opportunity to use an instructors Littman Cardiology III and was very happy when I was able to find the apical on a barreled chested patient. No one with a sprague had been successful with the same patient.
I’ve been trying to do some research to see what’s out there but it’s hard to find reviews for anything other then Littman. ANY first hand reviews or suggestions would be appreciated. My budget is $200 and I need a stethoscope with a bell and diaphragm so it can do double duty on peds.
I’m not concerned with my stethoscope walking away. I’ve had the same sprague since the beginning and it NEVER leaves my side.
I’ve used the Harvey Elite, and am quite happy with it’s performance. It would be comparable to a Cardiology II. Here is a link to the specs for it. This will give you an idea of what it looks like, what comes with it, and an idea of a general price. Obviously, if you shop around, you could probably find a better price.
http://www.steeles.com/catalog/harvey.html
It does well in the back of a noisy squad. I can’t imagine a controlled clinical environment being more noisy than that..
Edit: while I’m thinking about it, try to select one with shorter tubing (or trim the tubing down)- between 15 and 20 inches. This helps to cut down on extraneous sound, and provides better sound transmission. Tubing less than 15 inches tends to be uncomfortable, as you will always be leaning over and stretching to listen to heart and lung sounds.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:30 am
I’ve used the Harvey Elite, and am quite happy with it’s performance. It would be comparable to a Cardiology II. Here is a link to the specs for it. This will give you an idea of what it looks like, what comes with it, and an idea of a general price. Obviously, if you shop around, you could probably find a better price.
http://www.steeles.com/catalog/harvey.html
It does well in the back of a noisy squad. I can’t imagine a controlled clinical environment being more noisy than that..
Edit: while I’m thinking about it, try to select one with shorter tubing (or trim the tubing down)- between 15 and 20 inches. This helps to cut down on extraneous sound, and provides better sound transmission. Tubing less than 15 inches tends to be uncomfortable, as you will always be leaning over and stretching to listen to heart and lung sounds.
References :
20+ years professional paramedic firefighter