# do any general practitioners use stethoscopes anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 17, 2015, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550 "2015-09-17T09:00:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/41 "2015-09-19T14:26:48Z")
Egad…that could be a prelude to a stroke!! ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/42 "2015-09-21T07:06:25Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > my NP and my MD before her both used their steths to listen to my heart, lungs, and bowel sounds plus they listen to my neck for carotid bruits. At each patient visit, I use my steth ( a Littman Cardiology II, with my name laser engraved\*) to listen for the same sounds. > > \*establishes ownership in case a doctor “walks off” with it, plus it is a bright, pretty pink. Yes, mine is fushia, engraved, and has it’s own stethoscope “cosy.” My first Littman Cardiology II waltzed away on the neck of a pediatrician when I was still a student nurse. My "buddy nurse"was outraged, first haranged the doctor, who claimed it was his, and got all the nurses on the floor to chip in and get me the above stethoscope. I paid for the engraving and the “cosy”. Since at that time it was either keep my car insured or get a new stethoscope, I was incredibly grateful. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/43 "2015-09-21T10:11:23Z")
Heh. I call my stethoscope cover a “stetho-snuggie” and it’s purple to match the tubing. It’s a Ren-Lor with the acrylic single diaphragm design (with my initials hand-painted inside the acrylic) and rated for patients 5-95 pounds. Perfect for the doggies and kitties I take care of, and it doesn’t walk away on anyone else, especially dudes - they’ll only use it if no one else has one because purple. The techs and vets I work with all have their own scopes, and we carry them on our persons at all times - busy ER, no time to set anything down without losing it. My PCP’s for the last 15 years have been Family Medicine specialists. They and their PA’s all have their own stethoscopes on them - usually in a pocket. I get a yearly physical exam that includes full bloodwork (and doc listening to heart and lungs with scope), and then see my doctor every 3-4 months to monitor blood pressure and weight loss. Last time, when the PA was unsatisfied with my BP on the machine, she did it again manually with a cuff and her scope. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/44 "2015-09-21T22:48:59Z")
Chalk up another for the Littman Cardiology II. Mine is burgundy with my name engraved (had a couple of black ones walk away from the hospital). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/45 "2015-09-21T23:03:31Z")
I’ve been using my Tycho Harvey since 1980. I engraved my name on it myself, which was a mistake, as it reads “2. Mer(sqiggle)” but it’s a part of me. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/46 "2015-09-22T23:30:38Z")
Just had two different ones all over me today. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550/47 "2015-09-23T14:24:51Z")
I go to a family practice doctor. He has a “good” stethoscope that he uses in his office and a more basic one that he keeps in his bag for scout camp physicals and the like. And he does use it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-general-practitioners-use-stethoscopes-anymore/731550.md?page=2)