Required Medical Equipment for Western Meds

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I put the following message under the Medical Equipment & Books forum, but thought it could be useful here as well:

 

Monkey asked about required books in a different thread. I thought I'd also provide some info about necessary equipment, geared specifically towards Western.

 

Last year, it was kind of funny. . . the 2004 class told all of us during O-week not to buy too much equipment as we'd probably not use most of it and medical equipment ain't cheap. Lo and behold the equipment sale came around and the 2005s decided to ignore that advice. After all, we just got into medical school and we all wanted to be able to play with all of the toys. Not to mention the fact the sales people were all telling us we needed absolutely everything or we'd flunk out. Some 2005ers blew more than $1000 at the sale, never to use half the stuff they bought!

 

BTW - There will be an equipment sale organized for you guys in the first month of school, with pretty outstanding discounts. Don't worry about buying equipment until the sale, unless you want to buy from someone other than 3M Littman or Welch-Allyn. And keep your receipts. . . I think the stuff might be claimable for income tax once you start to practice!

 

ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED:

- A Stethoscope. You have to have one. I'm not sure which one is "the best" but I ended up buying the 3M Littman Cardiology III as it seemed to be a nice balance between quality, versatility & price. But don't forget you're only in 1st year. . . having the top cardiology stethoscope won't matter at this point, and by the time it does, hopefully you'll be able to afford to buy a better one.

 

BASICALLY REQUIRED, AND NOT TOO EXPENSIVE, SO PROBABLY WORTH THE MONEY:

- Reflex Hammer

- Tuning Forks: 256 and 512 MHz

 

RECOMMENDED:

- Blood Pressure Cuff. I didn't buy one because one's available in the exam room in the LRC as well as in all of the exam rooms in the hospital, but it would have been nice to have been able to practice this more. And I don't think it's too expensive.

 

PROBABLY NOT WORTH THE MONEY:

- Otoscope/Opthalmoscope kit. The kit is really expensive ($400 new for the most basic kit) and every time you'll need to use one, it will be provided. One of the 2004s called his "the most expensive flashlight I ever bought" - the only time he used his was when he went camping, couldn't find his flashlight, and happened to have his Opthalmoscope/otoscope along (don't ask why.) If you really want one, you can buy one off the 2005s. I bought one off a 2004 2nd hand for $300 and have only used it a couple of times, all in situations where there was another one available in the room. And to top it off, one of the equipment manufacturers just came out with a new one (can't remember the name) that is WAY better than the old ones but still extremely expensive. . . it'll probably come down in price, so if you are interested in a specialty where you would use it, you can probably buy one of the new ones then for much cheaper.

 

DON'T BUY:

A Microscope. You'll never use it, unless you want to try looking at your own spit for the organisms Dr. Colby will cover. . .

 

OTHER STUFF FOR THE ANATOMY LAB:

The other stuff you'll need is a lab coat and a dissecting kit for the anatomy lab. You can buy a (used, but clean) lab coat for dirt cheap from the anatomy lab. And they sell kits too, though they aren't that great and I think we paid $10 for ours. If you can find a kit cheaper, it might be worthwhile to pick up. And also, I found the biggest rip-off to be the fact you're dissection group will have to buy your own gloves off of the lab. They charge $12/box, so if you can find gloves for cheap (or "acquire" a couple of boxes from the lab you're working in for the summer) that'll put you in good stead.