A Doc's Life is a underground Medical Blog about some poor Singapore doctors. They are sibei sian and very buay song. Best practices not observed!
(Warning: Grammar is non existent in this blog. Those obsessively compulsive about good English please go no further and book an appointment to see your psychiatrist in Singapore.)

Monday, October 17, 2005

You Ain't Heavy, You're my Stethoscope.

The stethoscope is a status (not sex) symbol in medicine. There is an unspoken rule that thou shalt not carry a stethoscope around thy neck if you are not a doctor. Medical students are expected to be in their lab coat if they wanna hang their stethoscopes around their necks. If not there is the danger that their heads get bitten off their necks by some niau senior in a bad mood whose head just got bitten off by her Consultant (hospital food chain). The only exception to this rule are the physiotherapists. I never really figured out why physios needed stethoscopes except pretend to be doctors? :P

After SARS, there were much discussions about how (un)hygienic it is to carry your stethoscope around. Rest assured that doctors almost never do anything kinky with their stets (almost never because I can only vouch for myself)!! We are after all boring and unimaginative people. My readers will no doubt enjoy themselves providing innovative uses for this beloved medical equipment.

You can also tell the quality of a medical drama from the kind of stethoscope they use. (Yes! Dr Og so loves his job watch TV also must see medical stuff!)


ER


Dr Carter carries a Rappaport-Sprague stethoscope. This double-lumen stethoscope has two separate channels running from the chestpiece to each binaural and have superior sound quality as a result.

As a result of Noah Wyle, the HP Rappaport-Sprague stethoscopes became hotcakes amongst female medical students in the late nineties.


Scrubs


Dr Dorian also carries a Rappaport -Sprague stethoscope.

In general, most practitioners who need to detect heart murmurs and other more subtle sounds prefer using double-lumen stethoscopes. Because of the superior sound quality, the cost of double-lumen stethoscopes is higher than single-lumen models.


妙手人心


Dr Lai (and his colleague) carries a Littman Classics, a all time favourite amongst medical students and doctors.


Local Drama

$3 uber cheapo stethoscope that no decent medical student will be seen with [let alone a black tag (specialist)].
But the 1980s sibei side parting hairstyle is quite accurate...... hahaha.

PS: Dr Og neber carries his stethoscope around. It is simply too heavy and gives him neckache. His stethoscope does appears occasionally in this blog site.

45 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:50 PM

    interesting. dr blog, do you watch miao shou ren xing?

    ReplyDelete
  2. not "tok" enough! not "tok" enough! where's the firecracker-ing, rock-busting funny ones goes to?

    mourn, mourn, mourn....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:03 PM

    helo anon here. geno you're back?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:11 PM

    hi dr blog, i work in Kind Kingdom hospital where clientele consists of mostly hello kitties residing on the island. i am a toy doctor and though i treat mostly hello kitties, feel free to bring your sick pooh bears to me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous9:27 PM

    hey doc,ever heard of chest physio?
    thats why we need the stethoscope...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous9:32 PM

    Yup,physios who hang stetho ard their neck aren't doctor-wanna-bes...it's their outcome measure tool after chest physio...FYI :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. yoz! the very "tok" geno is back....

    ReplyDelete
  8. very loud cricket sound....

    muahahahahaha..............

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:14 PM

    use stethoscope put on neh neh very kinky

    ReplyDelete
  10. hey, dr og, that pic from channel 8 outdated.

    in the current channel 8's 9 pm show, the doctor role played by ix shen does carry around a littman classic.
    check out http://ch8.mediacorptv.com/shows/drama/view/660/1/.html and click on the last pic on the left column. should be littman classic if i dun remember wrongly. =P

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:16 PM

    i happened to be buying my stethoscope in the year when the Rappaport-Sprague company was changing hands or something. As a consequence my batch mates and i managed to buy this normally ridiculously expensive item at a price lower than the Littman Classic. Some consultants are pretty shocked to see us using it :P

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous11:40 PM

    Why Dr BL og,

    I think geno is hitting on you... heh heh heh (or is it obvious to everyone but me til now? :P)

    teeheehee

    ReplyDelete
  13. i remember the time when the chest piece of my rappaport sprague hit my upper incisor when i was student...

    i also remember the time when i could no longer feel the skin overlying the nape of my neck after leaving the steth insitu for more than 24 hours...

    ReplyDelete
  14. geno is but a hamster for now, since no face seen. Like I said before, me no zoophiliac. =)

    Anyway, everyone on Monkey Republic are animals in any case...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Inex,

    For the common benefit of all blog-readers, I entask myself the great peril to remind our beloved Dr Bl Og to pull up his socks(or Littman, whichever), so we will still have great days of enjoyment....

    It is of utmost heartache that you would feel I am hitting out at Dr Bl Og(with or without connotations). Which, most blogtizens would disagree....

    HIS ENTRIES ARE NOT OF THE STANDARDS SAME AS BEFORE!

    Eh-hmm....therefore, I ask of you with unaccountable sincerity....

    Stop The Bullshit.

    Yours Sincerely,

    G.O.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ok lor, i stop it lor. in case, i'm viewed as a hamster....huh.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm always learning new stuffs reading your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous9:13 AM

    Don’t forget to mention that the yellow checked shirt and shiny tie (in a variety of ugly colours) is also “in” right now. Or is it just my boss that wears that…

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous9:49 AM

    gee seems like I touch a nerve. seems that my multiple giggles did nothing to lighten up the mood that it was all said in jest.

    since you didn't understand that, its ok, I'm sure I can address all my comments to more openminded people who can take jokes next time.

    rest assure that I will be more selective about who I direct my "bullshit" to next time.

    :)

    Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous9:54 AM

    Dear Geno,

    On further careful reading, I realised that you might have mistaken my meaning.

    "hitting on someone" isn't putting them down or criticising them. "hitting on someone" is a term to mean that you are interested in someone, in a romantic or flirtatious way.

    Hope I clear some air, whether you get it or not.

    as for Dr. BL og's standards, I'm of the opinion that he / or they are not obligated to write to entertain any of us. Basically this is his /their blog and they can write anything they like.

    Cheerios

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous9:55 AM

    These days SCs (the new-timers) don't wear stethoscopes. They just go 'eh, can I borrow your stethoscope' when they want to see an inpatient.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dear inex, guess geno did the same mistake....the "letter" is meant as a light joke as well. if i've made u misunderstood me, i'm very very sorry. :-(

    though i guess my *muack* will not suffice(and i feel u'd definately not accept it!)

    here's a "T" hammer, hit me, man!

    thousand apologies!(Mind You Language indian-student style)

    P/S: of course Dr Bl Og can do whatever he likes for his blog, i'm not being mean.

    ReplyDelete
  23. inex: btw, i understand what u meant in the 1st comment. hee...hee...

    hit me, man!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:42 AM

    lets hit on Dr BL og instead.. especially if he is some droolicious hunk in lab coat and stethoscope....

    *all kinds of role playing fantasies running wild*

    Dr Og.. are we scaring you? LOL

    ReplyDelete
  25. ooh la la....let's tag team!

    muahahahaha......

    i go prepare the candles and whip, u go get the melted choco and strawberries......

    *Dracula theme song in background*

    ReplyDelete
  26. Dr Og is indeed very scared. I am not into SM with a hamster and a rubber duckie.
    You can have my Bert and Ernie dolls if you really wanna do that!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Speech physiotherapists also need to use the stethoscope in assessing whether patients can swallow properly/correctly.

    All tools are useful only if use correctly by the user. It doesn't mean only a doctor has the right to use a stethoscope. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:19 AM

    Hey I just bought a stethoscope for 100 rupees (USD2.00)off a little-hole- in-the-wall kind of shop medical supplies shop in India.

    Wondering if this can be used to spice up my sex life now....

    any takers to let me hear your heartbeat...beside your other organs???

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dr Bl Og: muahahahahaha.....

    salute: err....cheapo stethoscope holder excluded from the operation(pun intended)of inex and hamie's targeted kill(pun also intended).....phew.....

    inex: satisfied with just Bert and Ernie dolls? i let u decide.

    ReplyDelete
  30. spicing up your sex life with a stethoscope. Hmm.. what kind of kinky games are you playing?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous2:21 PM

    of coz not. for that Dr Og, we will continue to haunt your blog muahahaha

    ReplyDelete
  32. i follow inex.

    muahahahahahaha............

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous7:36 PM

    I will let you listen to my heart beat if you let me listen to yours for starters........how's that??

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous8:54 PM

    geno thanks for responding but I have to pass ....

    ReplyDelete
  35. huh?

    *in twilight zone*

    Duh...

    ReplyDelete
  36. dr,

    which part of the stethoscope does one observe, to tell whether it's a littman or otherwise?

    by the way, while looking thru a corporate gift brochure, i saw a "stethoscope cap" (looks like a condom!). it's used to prevent patients from getting "shocked" by cold metal on their chest. do drs use such products at all???

    ReplyDelete
  37. Eh, interestingly, a few cardiologists in the hospitals I've been in have cursed and swore at how awful the double lumen ones are, and recommend the latest littman cardio one instead.

    So much for engineering huh?

    ReplyDelete
  38. dear tpt, we dun use stethoscope condoms. like i said, i dun use my stethoscope for kinky stuff, so no need protection :P

    also you can look for the brand at the diaphragm of the stets.

    ReplyDelete
  39. dear areia, littman cardio is double lumen as well, it is a Rappaport-Sprague design, just that the double lumen is housed in another plastic cover.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous11:37 PM

    hmm...i guess drs don't know much about the jobscope of physiotherapists huh..We use a stethoscope about as much a reason as to why drs use one. Plus chest physical therapy is one of the main kinda treatment given to patients..of cos we need a stethoscope..don't u have physio friends??

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous4:04 PM

    Hmm, in East Anglia of the UK and certainly in Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, physios may sometimes sling stethoscopes round their necks. But they're also always in either their uniform (not unlike nurses' ones) or a hospital physio polo shirt. There's never any confusion.

    And medical students don't have to wear their lab coats! :)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous2:26 PM

    of cuz physio need steths wad....or else howda listen to chest sounds b4 we percuss the pt to death? rrrlight?

    we hang it ard our neck cuz our coats has gonio, other instruments, pen, notebook, pieces of crumpled paper with more notes and pt labels, water bottle, wallet (to dash off for lunch w/out hvg to go back to office), tisssssu for after makan, hp....howda squueze so many things inside rite?....

    well, only we in-pt physios ve steths ard the neck, others wise, others should just ve their theraband ard theirs...

    not to mention, our sch FORCES us to buy oneeee

    -AL-

    ReplyDelete
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