PRICE: Retail $100

PROS: For medical students, most nurses doctors, and other healthcare professionals, the 3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope is not too little stethoscope or too much stethoscope, but it is just right. It is a great price point for a high performing stethoscope that will get you through your med school clinical rotations, residency, and beyond.

CONS: Some of the lighter colors may stain over time. Try to avoid colors such as the Turquoise, Lemon-Lime or Pearl Pink. While almost all the units are solid, there are some reports of defective units not transmitting sound, so keep your receipt and test it out right when you get it.

IMPRESSION: Best price for performance from an established and reputable company who is the gold standard in stethoscopes.

SHORT SUMMARY:

When looking for a stethoscope, look no further than the Littmann brand which makes the best stethoscopes available. Within the Littmann brand, of all the stethoscopes we researched, the 3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope provided the best value and performance for medical students as well as other medical trainees that will last well into the careers of most doctors and nurses. The combination of rich features, durable new design, and affordable price makes this stethoscope the best stethoscope for medical students.

LONG ANALYSIS:

The stethoscope is a badge of accomplishment and it is one of the necessary tools that all medical trainees such as medical students and nursing students must have. In a 2012 study, researcher found that, “a stethoscope, is likely to exert a positive influence on the viewers’ perceptions of the qualities of the person depicted.” So when we are seen with a stethoscope, no matter how green and inexperienced, a medical student or doctor will be perceived as more trustworthy. So what should you choose as your “trustworthy” device?

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A STETHOSCOPE FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS:

Price:

I still remember the buzz at our medical school when we would finally be getting our first stethoscope. We were so excited. All the vendors lined up near our lecture hall displaying their stethoscopes and other medical equipment. With all the choices, I had classmates who purchased the “best money could buy” because they wanted to be top of the class. Others, like me, chose to ignore the sales pitch and turned to Ebay where, in an effort to save some money, I found the cheapest thing that was not labeled Fisher-Price. To my dismay, this quickly became a good lesson in, “you get what you pay for,” as the stethoscope I purchased from EBay, turned out to be a major dud. I could not hear anything through the stethoscope and it lasted only a few weeks before falling apart. Afterwards, I did my research regarding the stethoscope options available online. After much research, I concluded that the Littmann brand was the way to go and that the 3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope is the best stethoscope for medical students today.

When investing in your first stethoscope, spending too much on an expensive stethoscope is just as bad as spending too little on a cheap stethoscope. If you buy a cheap stethoscope you run the high risk of never being able to hear the vital sounds of your patients as you go through your training. Don’t be the guy who always has to borrow a better stethoscope because he can’t hear what everyone is talking about. Even worse, don’t be the guy who just nods in agreement to their attending, pretending to be able to hear the heart murmur or lung crackles. You have paid thousands of dollars for this medical school experience; make sure you have a stethoscope that will allow you to learn and grow your skills.

On the other hand, spending too much on the nicest stethoscope “money can buy” can be a common mistake for those looking to get ahead. Just as you would not get the most expensive bicycle for someone just learning how to ride a bike, do not overspend on a super high end stethoscope as a medical student. The expensive electronic stethoscope with ambient noise reduction may seem like a good idea, but spending over $400 on a stethoscope is not a wise choice. While you may be able to hear the sounds of the heart, lungs, and bowel better than your classmates, the improvement in sound quality is not worth the extra dollars spent since the slight improvement in sound will most likely be lost and unappreciated on your untrained ears. Stethoscopes are often misplaced or taken (both intentionally and unintentionally) and by overspending on a stethoscope, if you were to lose your costly device or have it stolen while on the wards, replacing it would be a very painful ordeal. You should also consider that there is also a chance that you end up in a specialty that does not require a stethoscope (ie. radiology and pathology) and your expensive stethoscope will then become a toy for your kids.

Acoustics:

Besides the price of the stethoscope, acoustics is a very important factor to consider. Beware that lower end, less expensive stethoscopes may be designed mainly for reading blood pressure and may not perform as well when it comes to the patient physical assessment that you will be doing as a medical student. Having a stethoscope that provides good acoustics is important to be able to discern between the subtle nuances of the differing sounds that is needed to diagnose disease of the heart, lungs and bowel. While the difference between a stethoscope with poor acoustics and good acoustics is huge for medical students, it is less important to have a stethoscope with great acoustics, as the price difference does not make it practical at this level. Once you start that cardiology rotation, then you can consider getting a more fancy stethoscope such as an electronic stethoscope.

TYPE

Acoustic:

When you think of a stethoscope, you are most likely thinking of an acoustic stethoscope. Acoustic stethoscopes transmit sound from the chest piece, via hollow tubes, to the listener’s ears. The chest piece can be make up of two sides that can be placed against the patient for sensing sound. The chest piece placed against the patient may be composed of a diaphragm (plastic disc) or bell (hollow cup). If the diaphragm is placed on the patient, body sounds vibrate the diaphragm, creating acoustic pressure waves which travel through the tubing to the listener’s ears. If the bell is placed on the patient, the vibrations of the skin directly produce acoustic pressure waves traveling up to the listener’s ears. The bell is best for transmitting low frequency sounds, while the diaphragm is best for transmitting higher frequency sounds.

Electronic:

An electronic stethoscope amplifies the low sound levels of the body. Simplistically, it’s like placing a microphone next to the body organ of interest and listening through a set of headphones. Because the sounds are converted to an electric signal, the sounds may be amplified, enhanced, recorded, and transmitted wirelessly. It can even provide ambient noise reduction (think those fancy noise canceling headphones you really wanted last Christmas). It should not be too long when you will be able to hook up an electronic stethoscope to your phone and have it diagnose heart murmurs and arrhythmias.

FEATURES:

For medical students, look for an acoustic stethoscope with a double sided chest piece that will give you the versatility to work with both adult and pediatric patients. As for length, 27” to 28” is standard and an ideal length. Any longer and the stethoscope will be dangerously swinging around your neck as run to codes or clumsily coiled in your white coat, ready to spring out and fall to the floow. If the stethoscope is too short, you will find yourself in the uncomfortable position of closely leaning over your patients as you perform your physical exam. In addition, make sure that the stethoscope comes with a good warranty. While there are only a few parts that can fail in a stethoscope, having a good warranty will protect you from getting a lemon.

WHY THE 3M LITTMANN CLASSIC III STETHOSCOPE?

So what makes the 3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope the best stethoscope for medical students? To begin, the Littmann brand is known for its consistent high level of quality not found in any other brand. Within the Littmann brand, the 3M Littmann Classic III provides very good acoustic performance for reading blood pressures as well as great performance when doing the physical assessments of the heart, lungs, and bowl. The double sided chest piece is key for evaluating both adult and pediatric patients and the tube length is an ideal 28”. It is easy to clean and maintain. When it comes to warranties, the 3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope has a good warranty covering 2 years. Should a product like this fail, it is usually due to a production defect that is discovered during the first year of use. A two year warranty should be sufficient to cover your investment. With the reasonable price, even if you have to get a replacement, another 3M Littmann Classic III stethoscope will not break the bank.

Two-sided chestpiece with tunable diaphragms on both the adult and pediatric sides.
Pediatric side converts to a traditional open bell by replacing the single-piece diaphragm with a non-chill rim.
Next-generation tubing provides longer life due to improved resistance to skin oils and alcohol, less likely to pick up stains.
Small tunable diaphragm is useful for pediatric, small, or thin patients, around bandages and for carotid assessment.
Headset material- wide diameter aerospace alloy / Anodized aluminum.

3M Littmann Classic III Stethoscope is the best stethoscope for most doctors and will serve you well throughout your training and well into your career. This is the perfect stethoscope should you choose to go into a field such as internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, family practice, and even pediatrics. One of the few fields where you would consider upgrading your stethoscope down the road would be in a field such as cardiology.