# is an orange stethoscope professional?



## haywood415 (Apr 7, 2010)

i'm ordering a MagnaFortis MetaCardia LT.11 next week and want to get it in orange. orange is my favorite color but i'm afraid it may come off as unprofessional looking? a few of my EMS friends have scopes in purple, green, blue, etc plus MagnaFortis offers more stethoscope colors than a box of crayons! so im thinking its probably fine and im just over thinking it. do you guys and girls think a orange stethoscope is unprofessional or should i just go for it?


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 7, 2010)

Seriously.....relax. It's not that big of a deal.  If necessary seek prescribed pharmaceutical help.


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## TransportJockey (Apr 7, 2010)

Go into a hospital and look at all the various colors used by MDs, RNs, and Techs


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## mycrofft (Apr 7, 2010)

*Get eye protection*

Ask me if I think an orange tattoo is professional....


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## JPINFV (Apr 7, 2010)

Depends, does the orange stethoscope match the jumpsuite?


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## rescue99 (Apr 7, 2010)

haywood415 said:


> i'm ordering a MagnaFortis MetaCardia LT.11 next week and want to get it in orange. orange is my favorite color but i'm afraid it may come off as unprofessional looking? a few of my EMS friends have scopes in purple, green, blue, etc plus MagnaFortis offers more stethoscope colors than a box of crayons! so im thinking its probably fine and im just over thinking it. do you guys and girls think a orange stethoscope is unprofessional or should i just go for it?



Sure! No one will nab it either. Had a male partner get a bright pink one so no one would dare snag it!!


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## haywood415 (Apr 7, 2010)

cool. i had a feeling i was thinking a little too much into this. besides since im buying such a nice piece, i should get what i want. as for people snaggin it, im also getting it engraved too. but bright orange and my name on it should stop people from jacking it.


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## Scout (Apr 7, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Depends, does the orange stethoscope match the jumpsuite?




HOW TRUE.... Orange will clash with the red on my uniform soooo much...

Orange would be practical in that you will see it when you drop it.


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## Lucy212 (Apr 7, 2010)

*Orange is okay*

As long as it works for you, it should be fine! It also might be more appealing to children and young adults and might help them feel less nervous when you're using it on them.


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## LucidResq (Apr 7, 2010)

Lucy212 said:


> As long as it works for you, it should be fine! It also might be more appealing to children and young adults and might help them feel less nervous when you're using it on them.



The color orange sends me in to hysterical fits due to a traumatizing experience I had at the age of 10 in the produce department.


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## Veneficus (Apr 7, 2010)

haywood415 said:


> cool. i had a feeling i was thinking a little too much into this. besides since im buying such a nice piece, i should get what i want. as for people snaggin it, im also getting it engraved too. but bright orange and my name on it should stop people from jacking it.



I got so tired of people "borrowing" and never returning my trauma shears. So I got some hot pink ones and strangely enough not only have the requests decreased, but I always get them back.

as a bonus I can also see them at night when I drop them on the ground.


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## firecoins (Apr 7, 2010)

The only professional color for stethescopes are hot pink.  No one will take it and it means I like healthy breasts.  I like both counts in no particular order.


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## Sasha (Apr 7, 2010)

Currently my stethescope color is raspberry, it's a nice bright pink. (I go through these things like candy, it seems.). I don't think it's possible to have an unprofessional scope.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 7, 2010)

Sasha said:


> Currently my stethescope color is raspberry, it's a nice bright pink. (I go through these things like candy, it seems.). I don't think it's possible to have an unprofessional scope.


You're talking to a guy who used to have a cover on his stethoscope (it was hospital policy for some reason) that had skulls and crossbones on it.  But I agree....one really has to try to make it unprofessional.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 7, 2010)

mycrofft said:


> Ask me if I think an orange tattoo is professional....


*stirs the pot*
What about having my EFMB tattooed on my forearm with the words "A time to kill, a time to heal" around it?


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## Sasha (Apr 7, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> You're talking to a guy who used to have a cover on his stethoscope (it was hospital policy for some reason) that had skulls and crossbones on it.  But I agree....one really has to try to make it unprofessional.



You really had to have steth covers?? I would think that would spread patient ickies a lot easier then a plain naked scope you could wipe down with a cancer wipe inbetween patients.

And I think the covers are tacky looking, anyway.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 7, 2010)

Yeah, the idea was it allowed us to wash our stethoscope covers and minimize buildup of dirt etc, blah, blah, blah.  Most of us hated them and the rule was quickly (after about 3 months) repealed.


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## Sasha (Apr 7, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Yeah, the idea was it allowed us to wash our stethoscope covers and minimize buildup of dirt etc, blah, blah, blah.  Most of us hated them and the rule was quickly (after about 3 months) repealed.



But you couldn't wash them between patients, could you? Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid but while wiping down the stretcher inbetween calls I also wash down my scope, tubing and all, between patients. Don't want the alphabet (MRSA, KPC, VRE, CDT, VRSA, etc. ) on something that comes in close proximity of my head


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## FLEMTP (Apr 8, 2010)

haywood415 said:


> i'm ordering a MagnaFortis MetaCardia LT.11 next week and want to get it in orange. orange is my favorite color but i'm afraid it may come off as unprofessional looking? a few of my EMS friends have scopes in purple, green, blue, etc plus MagnaFortis offers more stethoscope colors than a box of crayons! so im thinking its probably fine and im just over thinking it. do you guys and girls think a orange stethoscope is unprofessional or should i just go for it?




WHAT 

ARE 

YOU 


THINKING?!?!?!


an ORANGE stethoscope????!?!!

Thats the MOST UNPROFESSIONAL thing ive EVER HEARD OF!


You sir, are an embarrassment to EMS!!!











































Just kidding !

I say go for it!


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## Scout (Apr 8, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> You're talking to a guy who used to have a cover on his stethoscope










Have to say I've been tempted


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## medic417 (Apr 8, 2010)

Congrats on the the 3 millionth post about stethoscopes on this site alone.  Tell him what he's won admin.  <_<


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## Scout (Apr 8, 2010)

medic417 said:


> Congrats on the the 3 millionth post about stethoscopes on this site alone.  Tell him what he's won admin.  <_<




Calm down at least its a novel fair question. However I do like the idea of prizes. 


Can I get piglet?


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## Sasha (Apr 8, 2010)

Scout said:


> Calm down at least its a novel fair question. However I do like the idea of prizes.
> 
> 
> Can I get piglet?



I have a very bad pug I am giving away to a semi-good home, she's got a squished nose and a curly tail, she's kind of a pig wannabe, occasionally she snorts, particularly while you are trying to sleep, would that do?


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## Scout (Apr 9, 2010)

Will my stet fit comfortably through her?


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## Sasha (Apr 9, 2010)

Scout said:


> Will my stet fit comfortably through her?



Uhm I have never tried.. I'm sure you could thread it through with enough effort, but you probably wouldn't want it anymore afterwards.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 9, 2010)

> Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid but while wiping down the stretcher inbetween calls I also wash down my scope, tubing and all, between patients.



We don't have time between every patient to wipe down anything more than the bell and diaphraghm.  That's the difference between prehospital and in-hospital.     The whole stethoscope gets wiped down at the end of rounds (7:30 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, 1 am, and 5am) or when going from one unit to another (ICU to med/surg, med/surg to ER, etc).


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## TornWingedAngel1 (Apr 9, 2010)

heh...I don't think the color of it matters...


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2010)

Wiping down the tubing is not a timely task. You already have the wipe.





usafmedic45 said:


> We don't have time between every patient to wipe down anything more than the bell and diaphraghm.  That's the difference between prehospital and in-hospital.     The whole stethoscope gets wiped down at the end of rounds (7:30 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, 1 am, and 5am) or when going from one unit to another (ICU to med/surg, med/surg to ER, etc).


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## rescue99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Sasha said:


> I have a very bad pug I am giving away to a semi-good home, she's got a squished nose and a curly tail, she's kind of a pig wannabe, occasionally she snorts, particularly while you are trying to sleep, would that do?



Pugs need to be raised in multiples. Get another. That'll help


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2010)

She already has a boston terrier and would not forgive me if I brought in another sibling for her.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 10, 2010)

Yes, yes...what you are forgetting is that it takes several alcohol preps to thoroughly clean the entire stethoscope and most (nearly all of it according to most studies I have seen) of the contamination is at the parts I mentioned cleaning between patients, namely the bell and the diaphragm. 

The contamination is most prevalent around the seams and such, which are not easy to clean quickly with a simple "once over" with a alcohol wipe. Therefore wiping down the entire tubing is not going to add any significant benefit to the process.  Using a larger wipe (like they use for decontaminating equipment and counters and such) at the end of each round is simply a way of making sure I did not miss anything and actually is done more to prevent the buildup of skin oils from my neck resulting in the degradation of the tubing than anything else.  Anything more is overkill. Of course, I also break down my stethoscope at the end of each shift and clean all the parts individually because of the tendency for contamination between them. THAT is going to do more for the control of infection than wiping down the entire tubing, a large part of which never touches the patient. 

Anything less thorough, such as wiping down the entire stethoscope briefly with an insufficient amount of cleaning agent like you'd get from a rapidly drying alcohol prep pad, is going to give a false sense of security. You said it yourself that you're OCD about this which implies that you realize you're engaging in overkill.  Also keep in mind that we have the benefit of most of our MRSA/VRE patients being identified (everyone is screened for it on admission to the hospital and whenever they enter a high-risk category while in the facility) and our personal stethoscopes are not taken into those rooms, which is something prehospital care distinctly lacks.


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2010)

I use a cancer wipe which is large enough to clean a scope with just one.

Yes I'm a little vigilant with infection control I also get sick often. Don't need MRSA around my neck.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 10, 2010)

> I use a cancer wipe which is large enough to clean a scope with just one.



"Cancer wipe"?  You mean one of the large disinfectant wipes? Never heard them called that before.  

We don't exactly carry them around in our pockets (the big disinfectant wipes come in dispenser jugs in hospitals for the most part) and many people, myself included, are sensitive to the chemicals in them and cleaning/disinfecting products as a class are one of the leading causes of chemical contact dermatitis.  If you'll note most of those wipes carry a warning about "do not apply to skin" or "avoid prolonged contact with skin".  What do you think you're doing by putting it on your scope every time and then tossing the scope around your neck?  

The chances of you getting a dermatitis from overzealous use of disinfectants in an unapproved way is a lot higher than your chances of actually becoming ill (assuming you're not immunosuppressed) from any resistant bug in the hospital, let alone on the street. There is a reason why I limit their use to only as much as necessary (based on actual evidence and not fear, superstition, rumor, innuendo, etc) and then rinse the stethoscope with water afterwards to remove the residue.


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## JPINFV (Apr 10, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> We don't exactly carry them around in our pockets (the big disinfectant wipes come in dispenser jugs in hospitals for the most part) and many people, myself included, are sensitive to the chemicals in them and cleaning/disinfecting products as a class are one of the leading causes of chemical contact dermatitis.  If you'll note most of those wipes carry a warning about "do not apply to skin" or "avoid prolonged contact with skin".  What do you think you're doing by putting it on your scope every time and then tossing the scope around your neck?



I think you're over estimating the actual amount of skin contact with stethoscopes around the neck. First off, the Sani-Wipe (tm) ("cancer wipes") solution dry pretty quickly when applied. Unlike the actual sheet, equipment cleaned is generally dry in less than a minute after a superficial wipe (which is important because outside of AIDS, which is 10 minutes, what you're cleaning is supposed to be wet for at least a minute for it to work as advertised. A quick wipe off generally doesn't work as well as most believe). Additionally, the vast, vast majority of EMS uniforms are collared, be it button down shirts or polo shirts. That collar, in most cases, will prevent contact between the stethoscope and skin. Also, at least with how I practice, when I wipe my stethoscope off after a call, it goes on the back bench seat, not around my neck. Additionally, in the hospital providers have the option of using a holster (I don't see holsters practical for prehospital work), which eliminates the need to sling the stethoscope. 

Of course I get a dorky little short coat that has tons of pocket space.


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## Ocean711 (Apr 10, 2010)

As long as you can hear what you need to with it, I don't think it matters. Go for it.


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## DrParasite (Apr 10, 2010)

It is grossly unprofessional, unless you are going to be using the scope in Syracuse New York or Princeton NJ


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> "Cancer wipe"?  You mean one of the large disinfectant wipes? Never heard them called that before.



Sani-Wipes.. Cancer Wipes because the supposbly can cause liver cancer or liver damage or something.



> We don't exactly carry them around in our pockets (the big disinfectant wipes come in dispenser jugs in hospitals for the most part) and many people, myself included, are sensitive to the chemicals in them and cleaning/disinfecting products as a class are one of the leading causes of chemical contact dermatitis.  If you'll note most of those wipes carry a warning about "do not apply to skin" or "avoid prolonged contact with skin".  What do you think you're doing by putting it on your scope every time and then tossing the scope around your neck?



one hospital I worked in had them in little packets, which was really awesome, and every other hospital I have functioned in had them in or right outside patient rooms on the wall. Which was very convienent. My scope rests against my collar, and I have never had a problem with inflammation or irritation. The chemical is allowed to dry before putting it back on.


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## TransportJockey (Apr 10, 2010)

Cavi-wipe = cancer wipes. When I worked on a truck we had tubs of them in each rig. At the hospital each room had them


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 10, 2010)

> I think you're over estimating the actual amount of skin contact with stethoscopes around the neck.





Then the point Sasha was making is even more of a moot one about infection risk. 



> Cancer Wipes because the supposbly can cause liver cancer or liver damage or something.



And you're comfortable having skin contact with that (wet or dry)?  One of my buddies who is an infection control specialist (MPH and PhD in public health and a second PhD in microbiology) gave me the following advice: "If you wouldn't wipe it directly on your skin, don't wipe your stethoscope with it even if it will dry quick." 



> The chemical is allowed to dry before putting it back on.



It can still cause problems.  Bleach for example is well documented to still cause irritation and other issues even after it has been dried.  Lysol and several other common disinfectants is similarly reported to produce such issues. 


> Additionally, the vast, vast majority of EMS uniforms are collared, be it button down shirts or polo shirts.



Well, I was speaking to the flight suit I wear as a flight RT (which technically has a collar but it's not making any really difference)  and the scrubs I wear in hospital.  Most of the time the scope is in my lab coat pocket or in leg pocket of my flight suit.  About the only time it actually spends a lot of time around my neck is when I am in the ER and don't have my lab coat on.


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Then the point Sasha was making is even more of a moot one about infection risk.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You can have a quick wipe down while adequately soaking it to stay wet for over a minute. It doesn't require you stand there and wipe vigorously for five minutes.  

Again, my scope rests against my collar and does not come in contact with my skin. And, I have touched the cancer wipes with my bare skin, and have not had irritation issues.

These are the same wipes I wipe the entire stretcher, including arm rails, handles, and O2 bottles with, places that it will come in contact with skin, mine and/or patient's and I have NEVER had a problem or have heard of a problem.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 11, 2010)

I'm not going to argue with you any further.  You've made up your mind and obviously could care less what anyone else- including those with both more experience and far more education than yourself- has to say on the matter.  This is just like the feeding the homeless and eating babies threads all over again in demonstrating that the "princess" moniker you've tagged yourself with is pretty accurate.  I thank you for a minimally challenging discussion.  It's been fun, but I have better things to do with my time.   I'm off to find a freshly painted wall or a newly seeded pasture.


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## JPINFV (Apr 11, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> This is just like the feeding the homeless and eating babies threads



You know, I have a modest proposal about that, if you don't mind hearing it...


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 11, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> You know, I have a modest proposal about that, if you don't mind hearing it...


Feel free to PM me.  I have a feeling if it is posted in the thread, Sasha will go off again because we would be violating her standards of what is acceptable.  :lol:


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## JPINFV (Apr 11, 2010)

Well... if we take the babies and feed them to the homeless, then you've killed 2 birds with one stone.

Ok... I'm done channeling Jonathan Swift.


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## firetender (Apr 11, 2010)

*I Believe This Was a Fashion Opinion Question*



haywood415 said:


> i'm ordering a MagnaFortis MetaCardia LT.11 next week and want to get it in orange. orange is my favorite color but i'm afraid it may come off as unprofessional looking? a few of my EMS friends have scopes in purple, green, blue, etc plus MagnaFortis offers more stethoscope colors than a box of crayons! so im thinking its probably fine and im just over thinking it. _*do you guys and girls think a orange stethoscope is unprofessional or should i just go for it?*_



Go for it; let the critics wear sunglasses.


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## usafmedic45 (Apr 11, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Well... if we take the babies and feed them to the homeless, then you've killed 2 birds with one stone.
> 
> Ok... I'm done channeling Jonathan Swift.


I agree....perhaps we can get that schizo from down in Texas to organize it. :lol:


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## haywood415 (Apr 11, 2010)

im a member of many online forums and have never seen a post of mine garner such attention...my mind is made up people...im getting orange! thanks for all the comments but (even though a lot are totally irrelevant  )


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## PhilippeJB (Sep 6, 2011)

*colored equipment*

Don't worry about using an orange Stethoscope. All my stuff,Stethoscope, shears, scissors tweezers etc are all red. Helps when you are working a at a large incident with multiple EMTs. Helps let everyone what belongs to whom
Phil


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