For EMT/EMS school, what type of stethoscope is better?

I have heard from some people that Sprague Rapport types are better, and yet I have heard from others that they are the worst for ambulance calls. Also, are bandage scissors and trama shears basically the same?

You’re not a doctor working in a relatively quiet room, so don’t spend too much for a stethoscope with a great quality. Do you really think you’ll be able to hear much when you’re in the back of a metal box with the sirens blaring? Stay with a cheap one (20-30 bucks at most) that you wouldn’t mind parting with if it gets damaged on scene or too bloodied up to clean.

Sprague Rapport types are popular with students b/c they are cheap, but when you actually start working on a ambulance the two tubes (they are dual tube stethoscopes) start to rub together and produce some noise. It’s hard enough as it is to hear on the back of a moving rig, and noise is one more thing you don’t need. They are find for students though and I felt that my Sprague Rapport was actually a good training device as I learned to hear the sounds through the noise.

In general though you want to stay away from dual tube stethoscopes.

Bandage scissors cut small pieces of cloth that aren’t that thin (like… HEY! Your bandages!). Trauma Shears cut a lot more (think sweatshirts, jeans, some even heavy winter coats). Keep a pair of those with you as when you need them you need them quick. Since you do need them quick a lot of others may have forgotten their and will borrow yours and forget to return them in the heat of the moment so also go with cheap ones that you’re willing to part with. Trauma shears are the single most important tool (other than your brain) when doing a rapid trauma assessment as it allows you to quickly expose the patient (after making sure he has an airway and can breathe) and find bleeds and DCAP-BTLS (Deformities, Contusions, Abrasions, Pentrations, Burns, Tenderness, Lacerations, Swelling).

Finally an aside, but speaking of heavy winter coats–I’m gonna save you a rookie mistake and prevent you from getting laughed at by everyone in the ER later on. Winter coats have down inside them. If you cut one, you will have feathers EVERYWHERE! Add fluids you might have on you from the snow, blood, IV solution, and you will look like a chicken! So if possible, don’t cut winter coats and if you must, try to do it outside the rig BEFORE getting in if at all possible so you don’t show up in the trauma room looking like a chicken. It’s very hard to give a report when you have 20+ doctors and nurses trying hard not to laugh at the spectacle in front of them!

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