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Stethoscope Tips

Using a stethoscope is one of the first and most basic skills taught to medical students, nursing students and emergency medical service students. The stethoscope is one piece of medical equipment that will be used on most every patient that a medical practitioner will come in contact with. There are a few tips and tricks that can be performed with a stethoscope to make it more useful when examining patients.

  1. Keep It Clean

    • Your stethoscope, just like your hands, should be cleaned after every patient contact so as not to spread communicable diseases. Use a pre-soaked antimicrobial wipe for this or an alcohol-based hand cleaner. Do not get the alcohol-based hand cleaner on the tubing, because the evaporating alcohol will cause premature breakdown of the rubber material. Use it just on the bell of the stethoscope where patient contact occurs. If the entire stethoscope is contaminated, clean it with a 1-to-10 solution of bleach and water, followed with a clean water wipe down. Washable covers may also be used to keep the stethoscope clean.

    Lung Sounds

    • Listening to lung sounds in an environment with a high ambient noise levels can be challenging. Place the bell of the stethoscope in the axillary area under the arm and lower the arm to cover the bell. This will isolate much of the ambient noise and allow better listening to sounds of the lungs. Always listen to upper and lower lobe lung sounds, and both front and back. Listen on inspiration and expiration for abnormalities. Listen over the trachea to isolate the sounds of upper airway obstructions.

    Blood Pressure

    • When listening with a stethoscope to determine a blood pressure, place the bell lightly over the inner surface of the forearm. Pressing the bell down tightly will make it more difficult to hear the pulse sounds due to obstructing the blood flow. On a dual head stethoscope, use the larger side of the bell to listen to the blood pressure.

    General Tips

    • Do not store your stethoscope in sunlight, such as in your car. This will cause the tubing to crack and eventually break.

      Use a glove placed over the bell to avoid gross contamination by blood and body fluids.

      Point the ear pieces toward your nose when using the stethoscope. This directs the sound into the ear canal.

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