replacing the stethoscope

REPLACING THE STETHOSCOPE

littmann classic stethoscope amazon.com

when i was a senior in college i worked in a local emergency room as an emergency room technician
when i graduated from college and was moving before my acceptance to medical school
the nurses got together and bought me my first stethoscope
it was like the one in the picture
it was grey
on the metal portion of the scope it had my name inscribed  on it

thats the stethoscope i used for several years in medical school in residency in private practice
until one day a little kiddo grabbed it and pulled the two earpieces in opposites directions
pop twang was the sound
it no longer would stay together
so
i had to replace it
with another grey littmann stethoscope

this one i used for years until i retired then i gave it to ms b to play with

the old one the popped twang one i put in the toy box in one of my exam rooms so the kiddos could play with it

now
the stethoscope is good for listening to the heart and lungs and listening to arteries and veins for sounds that mean they are getting blocked and listening to fetuses heart beats
i even used it in my hard of hearing patients ears so i could talk to them

it also was used as a percussion hammer if i didnt have one in the exam room to use
i also sometimes would tap a kiddo gently on the head to play with them

that stethoscope saw a lot of happiness and a lot of sorrow
it was used in cpr and was used on newborns
it was used to pronounce the beginning of life
it was used to pronounce the end of a life

it became an extension of myself

so
with some sadness i read an article that said the old stethoscope would go by the wayside as more digital versions are produced
enhancing the sounds
even doing mini ultrasounds
doing mini echocardiograms
doing mini ekgs
sending them to your smartphone to analyze

i can see how those new digital ones would be good to use
but
i dont know
not having a stethoscope
i dont know
that was such a part of getting into medicine then it followed me around for about 35 years

im not sure you can replace the stethoscope with the digital one
and
do all i did with my stethoscope
yeah
i dont know
i would still have to use the old one most of the time

the organicgreen doctor