best stethoscopes for nurses

Nurses are often the first health professional contact a patient receives. For this reason, a nurses initial assessment with a stethoscope is paramount to the resulting investigations and treatment a patient receives. It is vital that nurses make a habit of auscultating with the stethoscope from early on in their training, with every encounter.

Each nurse will quickly develop their own examination style, and the best way to improve on ausculation skills, is to pick a suitable stethoscope early. So aim to use the same stethoscope throughout your training to give yourself the best chance of becoming skilled at auscultation. If you choose correctly, the right stethoscope will also last your entire career.

We’ve compiled a list of our best rated stethoscopes for nurses to help you make the right choice. Prioritised by quality, durability, and practicality of these stethoscopes, suitable for the fast-paced environment nurses thrive in.

* Best Stethoscope for Nurses 2020 *

ImageProduct Details  
bsg2-table__imageBest Choice OverallLittmann® Master Classic II Stethoscope
  • Best for experienced nurses, or nurses looking to develop auscultation skills
  • Suitable for all kinds of diagnostic physical assessments, including basic cardiac auscultation
  • Single-sided chestpiece allows for easy manoevering
  • Best for experienced nurses, or nurses looking to develop auscultation skills
  • Suitable for all kinds of diagnostic physical assessments, including basic cardiac auscultation
  • Single-sided chestpiece allows for easy manoevering
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bsg2-table__imageOur #2 ChoiceLittmann® Classic III Stethoscope
  • Best for experienced nurses, or nurses looking to develop auscultation skills
  • Suitable for all kinds of diagnostic physical assessments, including basic cardiac auscultation
  • Two-sided chestpiece with tunable diaphragms on both adult and pediatric sides
  • Best for experienced nurses, or nurses looking to develop auscultation skills
  • Suitable for all kinds of diagnostic physical assessments, including basic cardiac auscultation
  • Two-sided chestpiece with tunable diaphragms on both adult and pediatric sides
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MDF® Rose Gold MD One® Stainless Steel Premium Our #3 ChoiceMDF® MD One Premium Dual Head Stethoscope
  • Free-parts-for-life with Lifetime Warranty
  • ErgonoMax Headset anatomically angled for precision fit
  • Dual-leaf spring for comfort
  • Free-parts-for-life with Lifetime Warranty
  • ErgonoMax Headset anatomically angled for precision fit
  • Dual-leaf spring for comfort.
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bsg2-table__imageBest Value for BudgetLittmann® Lightweight II S.E. Stethoscope
  • Ultra-lightweight at 4.2oz (118g) makes for comfortable every-day wearing
  • Leaf-shaped chestpiece allows easy positioning under blood pressure cuffs and around bandaging
  • Good for blood pressure and limited physical assessments
  • Ultra-lightweight at 4.2oz (118g) makes for comfortable every-day wearing
  • Leaf-shaped chestpiece allows easy positioning under blood pressure cuffs and around bandaging
  • Good for blood pressure and limited physical assessments
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mdf acousticaOur #5 ChoiceMDF Acoustica Deluxe Lightweight Dual Head Stethoscope
  • Free-parts-for-life with Lifetime Warranty
  • Aluminium dual-head chestpiece for lightness
  • With patented SafetyLock Eartip Adaptors
  • Free-parts-for-life with Lifetime Warranty
  • Aluminium dual-head chestpiece for lightness
  • With patented SafetyLock Eartip Adaptors
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Why Every Nurse Should Invest in A Stethoscope

best nurse stethoscope

Your own stethoscope that you can rely on.

Reliability & Consistency

With healthcare costs being cut on every corner, nurses have to deal with increasingly poorer quality equipment on the wards. Sure, there are areas where using cheap disposable items doesn’t do any harm. Those of us that have had to deal with flimsy stethoscopes will have heard the joke that we’re better off placing our ears against the patient’s chest to hear anything. But when it comes to stethoscopes, a cheap low quality stethoscope is a world of a difference from a quality one. It can be the make or break between making a correct diagnosis early and saving a life. This is the quickest way to become familiar and skilled with normal health heart and lung sounds, is to use the same stethoscope (your own) for all your assessments. This is especially important during nursing school and while you are still a student: with consistency, you will learn to hear the subtleties of a healthy body so that abnormalities are recognised quickly.

Your Continuous Learning

There is a common fallacy that while learning and in training, there’s no point investing in an expensive stethoscope as you wouldn’t appreciate it at this stage, or even recognise the extra sound quality: This is a dangerous misconception. If you learn auscultation with a low quality stethoscope, you are setting yourself up for failure. How will you learn to differentiate one heart murmur from another if your stethoscope doesn’t even allow you to hear the difference?

Learning doesn’t end when we finish nursing school and qualify as a nurse. The reality is that nursing professionals are students for life, so give yourself the best chance of mastering this difficult skill by always using your own high quality nurses stethoscope. The best way to learn is to use the best stethoscope within your price range from the beginning.

Lifelong Career

Your quality of work affects your career. Don’t let your work and quality of care be hampered by poor quality equipment. If there’s one item every nurse should invest in to call their own, it’s a quality stethoscope. Finally choosing your own stethoscope is a rite of passage. Congratulate yourself on reaching this stage, and enjoy choosing one that suits you. Take good care of it, and it will help you in your career by leaps and bounds.

Clinical Assessments with a Stethoscope

The entire medical team places great emphasis on nurse-led patient assessments, and auscultation is a key skill to master as part of these assessments. As nurses continues to gain experience through their career, the stethoscope plays an ever increasing important role in their patient assessments. Is there a difference between a stethoscope for nurses and for other healthcare professionals? The best stethoscopes for nurses are just made with nursing needs in mind: lightweight for daily wear and convenience, durable to withstand robust use, and finally, clear acoustics to allow for quick identification of abnormal sounds. A good nursing stethoscope has to tick all these key boxes. Got one? Good, we’re ready to begin:

A good assessment is a key component of your practice as a nurse. It’s the bread and butter of care, and it’s important to be familiar with all aspects of it.

One part that many nurses find takes the most practice to perfect, is auscultation with a stethoscope. The key again is to get familiar with your personal stethoscope and practice until perfect.

Here are tips to help you master auscultation in each clinical category of the nursing assessment:

NURSES RESPIRATORY ASSESSMENT

Position the patient sitting upright or at 45 degrees incline. Ask the patient to breathe deeply through their mouth.

Listen with your stethoscope from the front and back:  Move from side to side, top to How to use a stethoscope to listen to lung soundsbottom, to compare lung sounds at each level. See diagram below on where to position your stethoscope chest piece as you move along the assessment.

Top Tip: If you only have time to listen to lung sounds on one side, make it the back, as this will give you the best coverage. Auscultating from the back will often result in clearer lung sounds and give you access to more lung area.

When the stethoscope is placed in the right position, it will avoid unwanted noise from other body processes such as gastrointestinal activity.  If you place the stethoscope directly on a bone, you will not hear anything, so avoid listening over the scapula.

Ask the patient to cross their arms on their chest and lean forward. This pulls the scapulae apart, exposing more lung are for auscultation.

Listen carefully for the breathing patterns and sound characteristics of your patient’s respiration, paying close attention to the:

Assess sound quality (vesicular vs. bronchial), assess volume (quiet vs increased resonance), and listen for added noises (polyphonic wheeze and crackles).

NURSES CARDIOVASCULAR ASSESSMENT

INITIAL CARDIOVASCULAR NURSING ASSESSMENT

Follow the systematic ABCDE approach:

It is also sensible to obtain an “AMPLE” while performing your nursing assessment: Allergies, Medication, Past medical history, Last meal, and Events leading up to admission.

CARDIOVASCULAR AUSCULTATION FOR EXPERIENCED NURSES

Start by auscultating the apical pulse. How does it compare to the peripheral (e.g. radial) pulse? Check that the rate and rhythm are similar.

Next, first use the diaphgragm (larger flat side) to auscultate the heart, moving “upwards” in a Z shape starting at the mitrat valve over the apex beat, then repeat with the bell (smaller side):

As you listen to the opening and closing sounds over the valves, listen for any added sounds apart from the clean opening and closing sounds. Any abnormal sounds will suggest a likely heart murmur.

Find the carotid arteries on both sides and listen with the bell of the diaphragm for an aotic stenosis murmur. Ask the patient to hold their breath while you listen so you don’t heart breath sounds from the trachea.

NURSES ABDOMINAL AND GASTROINTESTINAL ASSESSMENT

The Acute Abdomen

This is something every nurse must be able to recognize and deal with quickly. An acute abdomen describes sudden severe pain in the abodmen, requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment, often involving emergency surgery. Causes to be aware of include appenciditis, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer disease, intestinal ischaemia, diverticulitis, gall bladder pathology, DKA, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and intestinal obstruction.

The abomen is compartmentalised into 3 cavities:

During a nursing assessment, while these compartments should always be kept in mind, it is sufficient to divide the abdomen into four quadrants: the right upper (RUQ), left upper (LUQ), right lower (RLQ), and left lower quadrants (LLQ).

Take a full history to assess the abdoinal pain for site, quality, duration, onset, and radiation:

INSPECTION

Observe for distension, ascites, scars suggestive of previous surgeries, bruising, evisceration, and jaundice.

AUSCULTATION

Using a stethoscope, auscultate all four quadrants for bowel sounds. Absent bowel sounds are a worrying sign highly suggestive of intestinal pathology, and tinkling bowels sounds are characteristic in obsruction.

PERCUSSION

Hyper-resonance suggests air within the abdominal cavity, and dulles indicates fluid or organomegaly. In cases of peritonitis or an acute abdomen, percussion is extremely painful and should be conducted with care.

NURSING INTERVENTIONS

Other Considerations When Selecting the Best Nurses Stethoscopes:

  1. The weight of a stethoscope plays a more important role than for other medical professionals, and may be significant for you. Particularly when you consider that you will be carrying it around much of your practice day.
  2. Size: Will it fit in your lab coat or your uniform and not wear holes in your pockets? The materials used in the stethoscope’s construction may limit your choices.
  3. Allergies to latex, nickel, and some plastics may require you to choose stethoscope models with hypoallergenic materials rather than standard instruments.
  4. Length and type of tubing are practical considerations, because in a real sense you want your stethoscope to be fitted to you and your ears.
  5. How does it sit around your neck? Your comfort during the whole work day is important—think 8 or 12 hour blocks of time.
  6. And don’t forget special applications. If you work in Peds, you might opt for interesting colors, or you may attach small toys to your stethoscope, so choose one that can take your attachments.
  7. If you must multitask with additional equipment, choose a stethoscope that will not get in the way of those other devices.

Stethoscope Diaphragm
Where you practice your nurses stethoscope skills will help you determine the kind of stethoscope you want for your practice.

With the multifaceted nature of nursing today, your tools may require accommodation for specific applications.

These specialty areas may require specific instrumentation:

Place of care is just as important

Extra Features

The matter of preferences can be overwhelming. The good news is that there is a best stethoscope suitable for you and your practice.

Make a list of preferences that matter for your nursing setting or specialty.

So, let’s look at stethoscope instrumentation.

Stethoscope Components.

Here are the parts of a stethoscope and their functions. The key components to pay attention to are: head or chest piece, bell and diaphragm, tubing, ear pieces.

Chest pieces are commonly made of stainless steel or other high grade metal. Ear pieces should be soft and replaceable. Chest pieces can be single or dual head, and contain a tunable diaphragm.

Collection Mechanism.

The flat plate collector of sound for your stethoscope is called its “head.”

It may vary in size and shape to augment a specific sound spectrum.

The “single head” stethoscope is designed for taking vitals and checking lung function.

This head is tuned to the heart sounds.

The conventional “dual-head” stethoscope has a “diaphragm” side for collection of high frequency sounds and a “bell” side for collecting low frequency sounds. “Tunable diaphragm” means that the frequencies heard can be adjusted by applying or lifting pressure on and off the stethoscope head chest piece.

“Tripple-head” stethoscopes collect additional bandwidth allowing critical evaluation of cardiac function. The head of the stethoscope will vary in size and weight, the single-head models being lighter than the triple-head models. The chest pieces of single-head stethoscopes are easy to clean compared to dual head models.

Transmission Mechanism.

Sounds collected by the flat plate head are typically transmitted acoustically.

A head with greater mass, e.g., steel versus aluminum, will exhibit more sound sensitivity for you the user. (Electronic models may transmit the sounds visually, on an amplified basis, or on a recorded basis.)

The stethoscope head is connected to your ear via flexible tubing coupled to a stiff binaural metal or plastic yoke ending with ear pieces for your pinnas.

Tubing may be made of rubber or plastic. The stiffer the tubing is, the more sound from the head reaching your ears.

Ear Pieces Part of Stethoscope Mechanism.

Stethoscope Ear TipsThe stethoscope mechanism ends with stock plastic or rubber ear tips.

These may be customized by an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser with earmold expertise.

For a nurse with irregular pinna/concha structures, customizing the ear tips will provide comfort and better sound quality.

Cerumen and perspiration are very hard on rubber and plastics resulting in the need for ear tip replacement with time.

The chemicals necessary to make plastic soft evaporate with time, also bringing a need for replacement.

You need not replace your stethoscope when rubber or plastic parts fail because they are readily replaced.

5.  Configuration Optiotons for Nursing Stethoscopes.

Nursing specialties have been arbitrarily assigned to several categories for stethoscope recommendation purposes.

You as a nurse may fill only one of these roles or multiple roles in the course of your nursing practice.

Stethoscopes for Students.

Training institutions typically specify instrumentation to be used by their students.

Students are best served by purchasing stethoscopes recommended by their instructors.

“Cheaper is not better” is true when it comes to technology, even when looking at replacement on a short-term basis.

Sound quality may be compromised in “economically” priced instrumentation.

“Used” may be acceptable as long as an instrument meets specifications of instructors and stethoscope components are reasonably flexible and not cracked.

Avoid the cheapest stethoscopes.

The 3M Littmann Lightweight II S.E. by 3M is a light-weight stethoscope suitable for entry-level nursing practitioners. Click here for more details. It’s easy to clean and comfortable to wear. Unlike most other 3M littmann and MDF models, the chest piece is not made of stainless steel.

If you’re searching for an even lighter stethoscope, the Select is the lightest of all Littmann stethoscopes.

It is fully capable of giving you the ability to generate accurate BPs and provide appropriate data for your basic PEs.

The head is double-sided, yet sufficiently sized to fit beneath a BP cuff.

The head is tunable by altering head pressure. If you are latex-sensitive, this is a good choice because it has no natural rubber in it.

The best all-rounder of the Littmann stethoscopes that will last well beyond student years is the Classic III. Many health care professionals continue to use this stethoscope throughout their careers, well into advanced levels. Unlike the lightweight model, this one has a chest piece made of stainless steel.

There are two recommendations for the best stethoscope for nursing students.  The lightweight option click here and for the mainstay option, which is the 3M Littmann Classic III stethoscope – click here to learn more about it.

If you want to skip both these models all together and go straight for the best stethoscope you can buy, that you will never need to upgrade, consider the Littmann Master Cardiology stethoscope.

Stethoscopes for General Practice Nursing.

Many advocate the 3M Littmann Classic II S.E. stethoscope by 3M because of its sound quality, serviceability, and longevity. But we believe the 3M Littmann Classic III to be the best all-rounder stethoscope for general practice nursing.

If it is purchased as a student, this stethoscope will provide you with a basic tool for your practice throughout your career.

It is sufficient for many applications beyond the basics. Pricing ranges from $42.99 to $85.90+ on today’s internet.

There is a three-year warranty.

If you need to have a higher acoustic qualities, the 3M Littmann Master Classic will do the job. Check it out here.  It’s considered a step up from the Littmann Classic III stethoscope but not the top of the line.

If you need one of the highest sound qualities, the Master Cardiology or the Cardiology III will fit your needs.

Stethoscopes for Pediatrics.

Pediatric StethoscopePediatric stethoscopes differ from general practice instrumentation primarily in head piece size.

The head is contoured and will be about an inch in diameter (three quarters of an inch for infants).

It may come with toy-motifs to make the device less intimidating to children.

The 3M™ Littmann® Classic II Infant Stethoscope is ideal for pediatric patients.  It’s because the head is suitable for infants, acoustic quality is good, and ear tips seal out extraneous noise.

Materials used in its construction resist aging.

Today’s internet pricing ranges from $79.99 to $115.00+. It carries a three-year warranty.

The 3M™ Littmann® Classic II Pediatric Stethoscope has a design for longevity.

Its head is suitable for use with the general pediatric population in size and contour and feel (not “cold”).

Acoustic performance is delivered through comfortable ear tips which eliminate ambient background noise.

Pricing ranges from $67.00 to $102.89+ at this time. It carries a three year warranty.

(A variety of pediatric stethoscopes ranging from less than $5.00 to the mid-$30.00 range are readily available on the internet. Objective evaluation of the gadgetry is generally unavailable. Purchase of such devices may risk your professional reputation should they fail in the middle of your tasks.)

Stethoscopes for Cardiology Nursing.

A cardiology stethoscope is top of the range and not just for doctors but useful for all medical professionals encountering:

Littmann StethoscopeThese are most suited to experienced nurses rather than a nursing student. They have the ability to pick up all relevant frequencies even in ambient noise environments, and are made of very high-quality materials.

The acoustics of a cardiology stethoscope cannot be compared to any cheaper model. These come in both dual head and single with tunable diaphragm. Due to their price, most have extended warranties.

The Littmann Cardiology IV (dual head stethoscope) and Littmann Master Cardiology stethoscope provide high performance without electronics.

The diaphragms in their heads are tunable and are sized for both Peds and adults.

The Master version has a single-sided head with a special procedures adapter to allow additional concomitant evaluations.

Use of double tubing precludes interference from background noise during assessments.

The warranties are exceptional, five-year and seven-year respectively.

Internet pricing ranges for the two stethoscopes varies from $154.51 to $182.94+ (Cardiology III) and from $178.65 to $224.76+ (Master).

Amplified Electronic Stethoscopes.

Many of us develop some degree of hearing loss as we age. When we age we lose our inner ear hair cell sensitivity. It is called “presbycusis.”

Many stethoscopes will provide sufficient sound quality for a nurse to do an accurate BP or pulmonary analysis.

When our hearing loss is moderate, we have some alternatives.

Nurses with some degree of hearing loss can still function well in their profession with a electronic stethoscopes that amplifies the sounds picked up by the head of their stethoscope.

The amplified mechanism may be a simple add-on where the stethoscope tubing is cut and the amplifier is placed in the tubing.

Or, it may be an integral component of the stethoscope, actually incorporated into its head or yoke.

The Thinklabs One is a powerful amplified electronic stethoscope. Check it out here.

Another is the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope on first use may appear lighter than many electronic stethoscopes.

Its stainless steel head is easy to use with the same techniques used with standard stethoscopes.

Amplification controls (volume and frequency) are on the head of the device, making it “tunable” to your hearing needs.

A USB-type plug allows interface of stethoscope with headphones or PC or recording device.

For itinerant applications, this instrument would be functional with telemedicine. It would aid in the documentation of electronic medical records.

Instrument head accessories allow evaluation of Peds or geriatrics by switching diaphragms.

It uses one commonly-available AAA battery and the instrument shuts itself off to save battery life.

Today’s internet pricing ranges from $313.48 to $401.96+.

Top Stethoscopes for Nurses:

  1. Littmann Pediatric
  2. Littmann Infant
  3. Littmann Lightweight
  4. Littmann Classic II S.E.
  5. Littmann Master Classic
  6. Littmann Cardiology IV A dual head stethoscope
  7. Littmann Master Cardiology This is a favourite amongst the Littmann Stethoscopes.

Conclusion: The Best Littmann Stethoscope for Nurses

You’ll have noticed Littmann Stethoscopes dominate the top charts everywhere. and that’s no mistake. They are known to be the  best and any littmann stethoscope would be a good choice.

Littmann produces stethoscopes for every budget and need, while maintaining a high-quality throughout.  Another popular brand and great choice is MDF.

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