If you're a nursing student who is having a hard time hearing Korotkoff sounds while taking BPs, imagine the pain that we new medics have to go through! It's damn near impossible to hear BPs in the back of an ambulance lol. If you can't hear it properly, here as some tips that are floating around on the internet. Some of these tips helped me, others have not, and I have yet to see the difference between my "good" and "bad" stethoscope. 1) Palpate the brachial pulse distal to the elbow where the brachial artery sort of "crosses" the elbow joint before splitting off into the radial and ulnar artery. Once you locate this pulse, place your stethoscope directly onto it. 2) If you have a hard time finding a pulse (such as the brachial pulse), experiment with finger placement on yourself and experiment with how hard you press down while finding a pulse. If you press too hard, you'll occlude the artery and the pulse will disappear on you. If you press too softly, you won't feel it at all. Each pulse point will differ in how much pressure you must apply in order to feel it! 3) If you flex your arm, your brachial pulse point distal to the elbow will be harder to palpate, since flexing the arm will cause the brachial artery to migrate deeper below the bicep tendon. When palpating this pulse point on the patient, have them fully extend their arm if possible, and have them supinate their palm. 4) Similarly, depending on your stethoscope, the pressure you apply onto the diaphragm will change the frequency of the sounds you hear. I think if you press harder, you hear higher frequency sounds or vice versa. I found that as a new medic, I was nervous in the back of the ambulance. So nervous in fact that I pressed way too hard while auscultating a BP. As a result, I couldn't hear anything other than the bumps in the road. 5) If you can't hear it for the life of you, palpate a systolic, then wait 3 mins. Then auscultate a BP again. Seldom will a pt's BP drop so fast within 3 minutes, so you SHOULD be able to predict when you'll start to hear the first Korotkoff sounds. 6) Similarly to 4), you can instead watch the bouncing of the needle. It will start to bounce strongest approximately at the same time that you should start hearing the first Korotkoff sounds. 7) Buy a "good" stethoscope. (Littman III is the most highly recommended stethoscope for EMTs, at least) 8) Worst case scenario, just palpate a systolic BP using the radial pulse. Hope this helps! I know this video isn't about taking BPs, but after Jenny mentioned that some nursing students had a hard time hearing BPs I just had to throw these tips out there. You all have a much quieter environment to listen to BPs! I'm jealous!
@@NurseJenny No problem! You may have already covered these tips and tricks somewhere in your channel, but if it helps even 1 or 2 more people out, I'm glad to help.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these valuable tips and your wisdom with us! This is very generous of you! And I appreciate it very much! May God continue to bless you! 🙏
I was also never taught this and I thought that I'm stupid. I learned it from youtube. I was also never taught that you have to turn chest piece to turn on the required diaphragm/bell (and turn off the one that you don't need).
There you go! Must be pretty common but it's so important because wearing it the wrong way will have you hearing nothing at all! And yes, the turning of the chestpiece is a common one too. I sometimes get messages about someone's stethoscope 'not working anymore' and sometimes it turns out they just weren't aware you can turn the chestpiece! Thanks for watching! :) Nurse Jenny
I just need to leave a comment because I've been literally doing it the wrong way ever since. No wonder I don't hear anything. Thank you so much for this. Very precise!
I’m none doctor but can I use stethoscope at home for own health check up like all medical things, because I’m interested about medical service and I know about all check up
New medical assistant in training here. The practice I work at gave me what I assume to be one of their older stethoscopes. Do some of these older, cheap models not have earpieces that bend away? they don't even appear to be bending away from me or toward me at all.
Hello! 👋 sometimes you can adjust the cheap ones to suit your ear canal but some of them don’t! And this is a pain as it makes for really bad acoustics if the earpieces are not pointed ‘towards’ your ear canals. Try and see if the binaurals can wiggle at all, try and twist them to your liking if possible.
Nurse Jenny I have the littmann classic 3. I feel I can not hear as well if I fit the ear pieces in like an ear plug. However when I flip them I can hear much clearer. However snug does tend to feel better. The other way it hurts my ears but I feel I hear much better. Am I just getting old and losing my hearing, lol. A family member bought me the Littmann cardiology IV and I think it would help me greatly and can't wait to try it. Sending you love from a M.T. here in San Diego, CA:)
Hello! 👋 I’m not sure what might be the problem there 🤔 when you say you ‘flip them’, if you wear the stethoscope the wrong way around (binaural a pointing towards you) then you will not hear well at all. Sometimes the earpieces are too soft so that when you put them In your ears they actually collapse on themselves and block the channel. Either way, if you e got a cardiology IV coming your way, you should be just fine for acoustics 👌😃
Yes! They should be pointing forward or away from your face if you hold the stethoscope in front of you. 😊 That way they fit into the ear canal rather than pointing towards the back of your ear (and then you can’t hear anything!).
Hey when i wear the steth it fits sometimes but slip and tilt it on the other way more often it takes lots of time to fix it in my ears idk whats wrong maybe my ears are too small for them to fit. But when another person wears the same steth it fits them so easily.Please help me through this.
Are you wearing the right size ear tips? Some stethoscopes come with ear tips that are different sizes. If yours did, then try them out and see which size is best for you. Another thing that you may be able to adjust is the tension of the binaurals. You can either pull them apart for a slightly looser fit or squeeze them together for a tighter one. In some cases, you have different sized ear canals in your ears so one side might be a medium while the other is a size small!
My issue is that when I put them into my ears it plugs my whole ear, so I can’t even hear what I’m trying to listen to, or they “slip” and again plug my ear up :( what am I doing wrong? Are my ear pieces too small, too big.... ??
I’m thinking they might be too big so that they sort of collapse in your ear with the pressure. Could also be that you need to adjust the binaurals to suit your ear canals better (twist them to suit you).
Hi Graham! You can actually twist the binaurals on most stethoscopes to suit your angle of ear canals. So just try and twist it to the angle you want ☺️👍
Love this! Thank you Nurse Jenny. Very informative.
Your're welcome Kirsten.
I love this!*
If you're a nursing student who is having a hard time hearing Korotkoff sounds while taking BPs, imagine the pain that we new medics have to go through! It's damn near impossible to hear BPs in the back of an ambulance lol. If you can't hear it properly, here as some tips that are floating around on the internet. Some of these tips helped me, others have not, and I have yet to see the difference between my "good" and "bad" stethoscope.
1) Palpate the brachial pulse distal to the elbow where the brachial artery sort of "crosses" the elbow joint before splitting off into the radial and ulnar artery. Once you locate this pulse, place your stethoscope directly onto it.
2) If you have a hard time finding a pulse (such as the brachial pulse), experiment with finger placement on yourself and experiment with how hard you press down while finding a pulse. If you press too hard, you'll occlude the artery and the pulse will disappear on you. If you press too softly, you won't feel it at all. Each pulse point will differ in how much pressure you must apply in order to feel it!
3) If you flex your arm, your brachial pulse point distal to the elbow will be harder to palpate, since flexing the arm will cause the brachial artery to migrate deeper below the bicep tendon. When palpating this pulse point on the patient, have them fully extend their arm if possible, and have them supinate their palm.
4) Similarly, depending on your stethoscope, the pressure you apply onto the diaphragm will change the frequency of the sounds you hear. I think if you press harder, you hear higher frequency sounds or vice versa. I found that as a new medic, I was nervous in the back of the ambulance. So nervous in fact that I pressed way too hard while auscultating a BP. As a result, I couldn't hear anything other than the bumps in the road.
5) If you can't hear it for the life of you, palpate a systolic, then wait 3 mins. Then auscultate a BP again. Seldom will a pt's BP drop so fast within 3 minutes, so you SHOULD be able to predict when you'll start to hear the first Korotkoff sounds.
6) Similarly to 4), you can instead watch the bouncing of the needle. It will start to bounce strongest approximately at the same time that you should start hearing the first Korotkoff sounds.
7) Buy a "good" stethoscope. (Littman III is the most highly recommended stethoscope for EMTs, at least)
8) Worst case scenario, just palpate a systolic BP using the radial pulse.
Hope this helps! I know this video isn't about taking BPs, but after Jenny mentioned that some nursing students had a hard time hearing BPs I just had to throw these tips out there. You all have a much quieter environment to listen to BPs! I'm jealous!
Thank you so much for all those tips and tricks of the trade! 👍 So helpful! 🙏😊🙌
@@NurseJenny No problem! You may have already covered these tips and tricks somewhere in your channel, but if it helps even 1 or 2 more people out, I'm glad to help.
Thank you so much.. This is so helpful 😇
@@taechwita6518 No problem!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these valuable tips and your wisdom with us! This is very generous of you! And I appreciate it very much! May God continue to bless you! 🙏
I was also never taught this and I thought that I'm stupid. I learned it from youtube. I was also never taught that you have to turn chest piece to turn on the required diaphragm/bell (and turn off the one that you don't need).
There you go! Must be pretty common but it's so important because wearing it the wrong way will have you hearing nothing at all! And yes, the turning of the chestpiece is a common one too. I sometimes get messages about someone's stethoscope 'not working anymore' and sometimes it turns out they just weren't aware you can turn the chestpiece! Thanks for watching! :)
Nurse Jenny
I just need to leave a comment because I've been literally doing it the wrong way ever since. No wonder I don't hear anything. Thank you so much for this. Very precise!
Yay! And now you can spread the word! 🙌😁 🙏
Thanks for this! I'm a first year medical student and I've been struggling a lot with this! Thanks again!
You’re so welcome! 😁💜 Oh yeah, it’s so much more comfortable when you wear it the right way! 😂
@@NurseJenny It is! I had my OSPE exams today, and it went well! :)
Thank you for sharing such valuable information about stethoscope.
You’re so welcome! 😁🙌😃
Thanks, Nurse Jenny will show this clip to my first-year students.
Thank you so much Elizabeth Sturgeon! 🤗😁 I wish someone had shown it to me in my first year 😝😜💕
@@NurseJenny They loved it too. More classes this week will show them your video too.
Elizabeth Sturgeon that’s great. I’m glad I can give back! 😉😍👌
I’m none doctor but can I use stethoscope at home for own health check up like all medical things, because I’m interested about medical service and I know about all check up
Thank you so much. That was such a great lesson!! Bless you😊
Thank you so much, wish me luck I will have my first osce exam😢
Abdulrhman Benomran Good luck!!! 🍀 🤗 you’ll be fine. Take a deep breath and remember what you’ve learnt. 😄
New medical assistant in training here. The practice I work at gave me what I assume to be one of their older stethoscopes. Do some of these older, cheap models not have earpieces that bend away? they don't even appear to be bending away from me or toward me at all.
Hello! 👋 sometimes you can adjust the cheap ones to suit your ear canal but some of them don’t! And this is a pain as it makes for really bad acoustics if the earpieces are not pointed ‘towards’ your ear canals. Try and see if the binaurals can wiggle at all, try and twist them to your liking if possible.
Nurse Jenny I have the littmann classic 3. I feel I can not hear as well if I fit the ear pieces in like an ear plug. However when I flip them I can hear much clearer. However snug does tend to feel better. The other way it hurts my ears but I feel I hear much better. Am I just getting old and losing my hearing, lol. A family member bought me the Littmann cardiology IV and I think it would help me greatly and can't wait to try it. Sending you love from a M.T. here in San Diego, CA:)
Hello! 👋
I’m not sure what might be the problem there 🤔 when you say you ‘flip them’, if you wear the stethoscope the wrong way around (binaural a pointing towards you) then you will not hear well at all. Sometimes the earpieces are too soft so that when you put them
In your ears they actually collapse on themselves and block the channel. Either way, if you e got a cardiology IV coming your way, you should be just fine for acoustics 👌😃
@@NurseJenny thank you
You’re welcome ☺️
Thank you so much nurse Jenny
I want to know how to differentiate between a nurse and a doctor by the way they keep the stethoscope around their neck, if there is
There’s no difference in how a nurse or a doctor would wear their stethoscope around their neck (that I know of!). 😊
Thank you Jenny.
You’re welcome! 🙏😃🌷
Hi Jenny u explaining very well keep it up 🥰 R u a doctor or nurse
So the ear tips should be AWAY from you? Thanks for this!
Yes! They should be pointing forward or away from your face if you hold the stethoscope in front of you. 😊 That way they fit into the ear canal rather than pointing towards the back of your ear (and then you can’t hear anything!).
Thank you dear
I loved the cat nose part ..MEEOOOWWWWW!!!!🐈🐈🐱🐱😻Lots of love from 1 st year medical student from INDIA 😍
Haha a little something to make you remember! Thank you so much and lots of love from Australia! 😁😁
I love cats🐈❤
All i want to say " Thankyou mam " ❤
You are so welcome my dear 😃🙏💕
Thanks a lot , god bless you
You’re so welcome 🙏☺️
Thank you..so helpful
That’s amazing! I’m so glad 🤩😊🙌
I have checked whole youtube but nonone told the way ..ty
Suruchii rathore wohoo! So glad you found it 😁 Remember the cat nose - meow! 🐱 👍
Thanku
You’re so welcome 😌🙏💕
Hey when i wear the steth it fits sometimes but slip and tilt it on the other way more often it takes lots of time to fix it in my ears idk whats wrong maybe my ears are too small for them to fit. But when another person wears the same steth it fits them so easily.Please help me through this.
Are you wearing the right size ear tips? Some stethoscopes come with ear tips that are different sizes. If yours did, then try them out and see which size is best for you. Another thing that you may be able to adjust is the tension of the binaurals. You can either pull them apart for a slightly looser fit or squeeze them together for a tighter one.
In some cases, you have different sized ear canals in your ears so one side might be a medium while the other is a size small!
So wonderful.
My issue is that when I put them into my ears it plugs my whole ear, so I can’t even hear what I’m trying to listen to, or they “slip” and again plug my ear up :( what am I doing wrong? Are my ear pieces too small, too big.... ??
I’m thinking they might be too big so that they sort of collapse in your ear with the pressure. Could also be that you need to adjust the binaurals to suit your ear canals better (twist them to suit you).
Thank you!!! I was putting them in wrong! Lol!!!!
So easily done Lorin G! I used to do it myself 😂🙄😄
Very helpful
Useing Tie wearing , stetoscope wearing must learn, teach them to mind set growing, god bless you , Jai Bharat
can you buy a stethoscope if you are not a nurse or a doctor...
Absolutely! Anyone can buy a stethoscope 👍
Really thanks
Anytime! :)
What if one of them points outward and the other inward?
Hi Graham! You can actually twist the binaurals on most stethoscopes to suit your angle of ear canals. So just try and twist it to the angle you want ☺️👍
@@NurseJenny, thank you. It sounds so much better now.
So happy I could help 😁
Super helpful!! 👍🥰
Wohoo! I’m glad it helped! 🙏🤗🤩
Thank you for the video nurse jenny love it
Love from india🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
My name is Arden and I love you so much 💝💕❤️😍
Haha - thank you!! 🙏😁
Arden is my daughter and she was browsing on my iPad... I had no idea she was commenting until I got a note from UA-cam. She is 6 years old 😂😂
Haha! Omg that is hilarious!! Hi Arden! 👋👋😂😁😄
great
☺️👍
👍
U r so cute 🥰
THANK YOU! 😆🥰💗