Makeup, Lattes, and Medicine

For my own enjoyment, I want to share the knowledge I have collected as a pre-med and as a medical student while also sharing my passion for all my favorite things, like makeup and lattes.

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Friday, May 15, 2020

Med School Tip #1 - Medical Equipment

Noel 12:00 PM , , , , , , , , , , 1 comment :
Oops! I took a 3 year long break. My bad guys, but I promise it was worth it. I just wrapped up my 3rd year of medical school in May, and now, I feel like I have gained so much valuable information to help you guys make decisions. This whole post is about medical equipment, which for my school, was a huge stressor for the incoming classes as you don't really know what you need and what you don't. Let's break it down.
Once you have been accepted and as orientation approaches, your school will most likely send you a huge list of equipment for upcoming courses, like your interviewing and physical exam courses, to use on standardized patients and the like. Some of it is not surprising, but other pieces of equipment can be confusing in terms of what exact model and type to buy. Now, I am basing most of this post on my school's list, so your school might have more or less things for you to buy. Below I describe the options that were given so if you have similar options, you know what you are looking at. Then, I will break down what I actually used and recommend you get, what I used but should be optional, and what is not useful to get.

WHAT MY OPTIONS WERE

List of things I was required to buy:
  • Stethoscope
  • Ophthalmoscope/Otoscope (also called a diagnostic set) 
  • Reflex hammer
  • Tuning fork (128 and 512 Hertz)
  • Pocket penlight
They also recommended I buy a blood pressure cuff (sphygmomanometer) to practice with.
Now, you can get these items from a medical distributer, medical supply store, or online. My school provided me with an order form from a medical distributer to order supplies, and it seemed to have the best prices from what I found. 

Stethoscope
My school provided me with one, but I also decided to get one on my own. The reason I did this initially was I commute to school and wanted to leave one in my locker and one at home in case I go directly to clinic. Reflecting back, you can definitely deal with just one stethoscope. I had to travel a lot for clinics so it was nice to have one in my car when you realize that you left yours in your locker at the hospital though. The gold standard seems to be Littmann stethoscopes for medical students and for most healthcare professionals actually. That being said, there are plenty of other brands that will do just fine, and you can always upgrade later once you know what kind of doctor you will be. Also, don't leave your stethoscope anywhere unless it's locked up. PEOPLE WILL TAKE THEM, even if your name is on it.

Opthalmoscope/Otoscope (Diagnostic set)
These are used for eye and ear exams fyi. There is so much debate online whether buying a diagnostic set is really necessary for medical students. YOU DO NOT NEED IT. They are expensive, and most hospitals/clinics have ones available to use. If you have convinced yourself that you do, there are some pros and cons for each below.

Welch Allyn Opthalmoscope
Welch has many options for opthalmoscope. From the research I did, the PanOptic one is the mother of all eye scopes and can do everything under the sun. That being said, its crazy expensive, and most clinics and hospitals do not use them as a result. That can be detrimental for students as you won't learn how to use a standard opthalmoscope that is usually available. Also, you will most likely not use all the features of the PanOptic. The standard opthalmoscope is a coaxial one. It has less features but is cheaper, and you will find this style in most clinics. Both are made of plastic and metal pieces.

Welch Allyn Otoscope
For the otoscope, they only difference is the size of the lens and how much you can see. The MacroView has the wider view, and from what I can tell, choosing between the standard and the MacroView is based solely on preference. Again, they are made of plastic and metal.

Welch Allyn Handles
The other option you will have for the WelchAllyn Diagnostic Sets is the type of handle. The battery is located in the handle, and you can choose from the Lithium Ion Smart Handle or the NiCad Handle. The lithium ion is more expensive, but its battery can last 120 minutes with continuous use. The NiCad battery lasts for 60 minutes, but you have the option of putting C batteries in the handle if it runs out of juice. 

Heine Opthalmoscope and Otoscopes
Unlike Welch Allyn, the only opthalmoscope style I had to choose from was an coaxial style, and a standard otoscope. The choice I had was the K180 (which has fiber optic illumination and made of polycarbonate) and the Beta400 (LED and all metal). Both have USB handle charging ports.

Portable vs Standard
Welch Allyn and Heine also have portable sets available for the standard diagnostic sets. Personally, they did not seem too large to begin with so I did not go for a portable set.

Reflex Hammer
For reflex hammers, the options were Taylor Reflex Hammer, Buck Reflex Hammer with Brush and Pin, and the Babinski Reflex Hammer with a Round Head. The Taylor is the typical triangle reflex hammer, the Buck has a long tube ending, and the Babinski has a flat disc end.
The Taylor (also apparently called a tomahawk) is supposedly too light and is not worth your money (according to the internet). The people that say that are likely people that truly need to grade reflexes. You will not. A Taylor is great for what a med student needs to do for neuro exams and on the wards. 

Tuning Forks
Unlike the other equipment, I did not have an option for tuning forks. I only had the C128 and C512 available to me. I have not had a reason to carry mine around and during OSCEs (exams with standardized patients), they were provided for me. I don't think these are essential for medical students.
Pocket Penlight
So we have disposable penlights, ACD adlite LED penlight and a WA Halogen penlight. The penlights seem to really depend on preference and the price you want to pay rather than necessarily what is best of the best for medical scenarios. I bought an LED one, but I never use it. Use the otoscope on the wall or your Iphone. 
Optional Equipment
Sphygmomanometers
Aka blood pressure meters. I had the option of picking Heine or Welch Allyn. Welch Allyn has two "types" of sphygmomanometer, the  Classic Hand Aneroid (can pick between 2 cuffs or 4 cuffs) and the DS66 (again can pick between 2 cuffs or 4 cuffs). The difference according to Welch Allyn is that the DS66 "remain(s) in calibration longer than traditional aneroids, providing more accurate readings over time and a lower lifetime cost, helping to improve practice efficiencies and your bottom line".  Heine's only has 1 type with the option of 1 cuff or 3 cuffs. YOU DON'T NEED THIS.

Accessories
My order form also had the option of EKG calipers, a nylon medical bag, insufflation bulbs for the diagnostic sets, and if you get the Welch Allyn Panoptic opthalmoscope, you can get the Welch Allyn iExaminer for your phone (iPhone 4 or 6).

WHAT I BOUGHT
I bought a Littman Cardiology 4 in breast cancer pink, Heine opthalmascope and otoscope, a babinski hammer,  both tuning forks, and a LED penlight. My roommate bought the blood pressure cuff so I didn't purchase that.

WHAT I RECOMMEND
I wasted money. Please don't waste money. Just buy Taylor reflex hammer, maybe a pen light, and a stethoscope if your school doesn't give you one.

I used the stethoscope all the time, and its great. A stethoscope is a must as they will never provide you one in exams, classes, rotations etc. The opthalmascope and otoscope were helpful to practice with at home, but you really don't need your own. Every exam we have had and every clinic I work in has them so don't waste your money.  Same with the blood pressure cuffs. Can be useful to practice with, but you don't need your own. Same with the tuning forks. Also, for the reflex hammer, just get the cheapest one. If you get a fancier one, you look ridiculous, and they are harder to use. I ended up buying the Taylor reflex hammer after awhile. My pen light is also nice, but you could get away with any of them in my opinion so buy the one you think would be best for you. Overall, just get the stethoscope, reflex hammer, and the pen light.

I hope this was helpful. I could have saved a lot of money, but I guess its all a learning process. I also look in everyone's eyes and ears that will let me with my scopes so I guess practice makes perfect.



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