Stethoscope, more of a symbol than a tool

RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
you can't honestly say that the number one factor that contributes to the purchase of most peoples steth is functionality though
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Sure it is. Mine is more functional than the one that might be on the ambulance and is certainly not in the bag. It works better, that's why I bought it. Period.

Seems like you have some sort of agenda here, I can't really figure out why though.
 
RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
every time I see that being done its by someone who is working at a facility.. not out in the field...
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I carry two rolls of tape on a carabiner clipped to a belt loop. I guess I picked it up as I worked in the ER, but it's come in handy often as you often forget the tape while gathering whatever else you need.
 
I don't think they should be worn all the time, but I will wear it around my neck from the time I walk in to get my patient until I transfer to the hospital. I like to repeatedly check my patient.
 
I have a very nice stethoscope and I use it all the time for its intended purposes. I am certainly capable of using even the cheap ones for most of my work. As far as the tape roll thing is concerned, I put mine on a hemostat... not on a stethoscope. It can easily fall off and I can simply put my roll anywhere convenient.

Expensive tools don't make the pro, pros use good tools as necessary and watching them work shows you who is the pro and who is a wacker/Ricky Rescue.
 
RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
you can't honestly say that the number one factor that contributes to the purchase of most peoples steth is functionality though
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Ummm yes as a matter of fact it is. I prefer my own stethoscope over the ones on the ambulance. I can hear B/P's and lung sounds 10x better with my own stethoscope vs the cheap ones on the ambulance. That is the primary reason most everyone buys their own stethoscope; because it works better and is more functional. Thats the reason I bring mine to work.
 
Last week I was considering sticking a needle into someone's chest because they had a pneumothorax and weren't moving air on one side. Having a good stethoscope was pretty useful in that situation.

A stethoscope is also handy for confirming that your "endotracheal" tube is actually in their trachea and not their esophagus.

Hearing the difference between rales, rhonchi and wheezes can completely change how we treat things (CPAP and nitro vs fluids vs albuterol/ipratropium/etc), and giving the wrong drugs to a sick patient could potentially kill them.

Even at a BLS level, you need a stethoscope to get a diastolic blood pressure... And sometimes you'll find patients with such poor peripheral pulses that you can't palpate a BP, and the only way to get one is to auscultate.

Mine lives in the first-in bag though, and I almost never wear it.
 
I don't know where you got your observation from. Working IFT, I pretty much am in some part of transporting patients all day and I get plenty of patients. I use my stethoscope on every single once at least once sometimes 2,3, or 4 times for a longer transport. Then throw in lung sounds, it is definitely helpful to have. Gurby gave a good example of why. And I got my own because I don't like the cheap ones. Used them before and didn't like it. I like to buy quality anything because it lasts longer and works better, not for for a fashion statement.
 
I have a Master Card, and I use it all the time for the intended use, BP, Lung Sounds, Heart Tones, Gastric Sounds, ext. The reason why I picked this one was I had used multiple different ones and after being in the military with loud noises, I needed something that assisted me in my patients assessments. Just because I like the one I have, doesnt mean the cheap-o ones dont work. They work just fine in most situations, but sometimes I need that little extra for me. Now the tape thing I do not keep anything on my Stethoscope because I do not carry mine around my neck, it is normally in my leg pocket now or in the jump kit
 
EMT11KDL said:
I have a Master Card, and I use it all the time for the intended use, BP, Lung Sounds, Heart Tones, Gastric Sounds, ext. The reason why I picked this one was I had used multiple different ones and after being in the military with loud noises, I needed something that assisted me in my patients assessments. Just because I like the one I have, doesnt mean the cheap-o ones dont work. They work just fine in most situations, but sometimes I need that little extra for me. Now the tape thing I do not keep anything on my Stethoscope because I do not carry mine around my neck, it is normally in my leg pocket now or in the jump kit
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I tried using my MasterCard to listen to lung sounds and could not hear a thing. Am I doing it right? :p
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Will anything happen to my NREMT score if I hit my auscultation limit? Right now I'm about to hit 120.
 
Flying said:
Will anything happen to my NREMT score if I hit my auscultation limit? Right now I'm about to hit 120.
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Your score for a good NREMT result should be in the 800s. 120 is very low and will surely have trouble getting loans
 
EMT11KDL said:
The basic MasterCard does not work, you must have the Platinum
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Ahh so that's my problem. Sadly I do not qualify for the platinum card. Looks like I'll have to leave that for my partner.
 
Personally, I really dislike having my stethoscope around my neck but only because I find it annoying. My stethoscope is very valuable to me while assessing patients. Many providers like to carry their own stethoscope because they take care of it and don't like to put something in their ears that have been in 5000 other people's ears. And yes, quality matters. Not as much as some proclaim but it does matter. If I am going to be making crucial treatment decisions based on what I hear I want to make sure I am hearing the best that I can.

But yeah, I know the type you speak. The providers who seem to live with a stethoscope around their neck and don't even know how to use it. Or the ones who hang it around their car mirror. But don't let that diminish this tools value.
 
RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
I feel like the stethoscope has become more of a symbol than an actual tool. It has limited uses, you can listen to someone's breathing, oscillate their bp, and a couple of other things but I mean I don't know that it is so importa
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This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. The stethoscope is literally the most important assessment tool in the BLS toolkit, and arguable the ALS kit too. Differentiating lung sounds generates working Dx.

RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
I get the idea that it is nice to have something nice, personally mine cost about $150..
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Why did you spend so much on a TOOL? Did you get it to look cool?

RobertAlfanoNJEMT said:
you can't honestly say that the number one factor that contributes to the purchase of most peoples steth is functionality though
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Absolutely the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
 
For some people this is true.

Some people don't need the wing on their car either.

One very smart emergency physician I know has decided that ultrasound has made the stethoscope obsolete (glares over thataway).
 
Brandon O said:
One very smart emergency physician I know has decided that ultrasound has made the stethoscope obsolete (glares over thataway).
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Just as learning to differentiate murmurs is worthless in the age of Echo...
 
Although determining the origin of a murmur coukd be the difference between a stat echo at 3am and an outpatient w/u.
 
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