Hi all,
I’m in the dilemma of deciding whether to buy an oto/opthalmoscope or to get by without one. I don’t see much on ebay, and I don’t really want to fork out $400 or $500 on something that won’t get used much.
Does anyone have one they want to sell? Any opinions on whether I need it or not?
Thanks!
Pam, I have very rarely used my ophthalmoscope/otoscope set. I did find it handy last month when I did neurology because I was examining patients in the hospital and there were no instruments on the walls of the rooms. But you know, if I hadn’t had my own diagnostic kit I would’ve been able to borrow one from a resident (neuro residents do all seem to have their own equipment).
Try to get opinions from your school’s 4th years about whether they’ve needed them in various clinical settings. I’ve heard of people who found them useful in a poorly-equipped ER, for example.
But I don’t think I’d blow the $$. I have gotten more use out of my otoscope for looking at my daughter’s ears, frankly!!! (as mom of two little kids, you might find it handy…)
Hi Pam,
Find another student and split the cost. You can take turns using the scope or better yet, ask an upperclassman to borrow theirs for your Physical Diagnosis class. You can pay a small fee or something.
Natalie 
I am just curious… with all the books and equipment that schools want you to buy, do they routinely review the required lists to update or delete items or books that a new student doesn’t need? I have heard from a number of people who have wasted money on things that were required but that they never made use of.
So, I decided to NOT buy the opthalmoscope/otoscope and it doesn’t look like it will be a problem right now. However, my oldest son (4 years old as of Friday!) got a case of otitis media, and it would have been nice to have one so I could check it out! I did get to use the one in the doctor’s office though. I now know what infected ears look like.
Thanks for the advice!
P.S. Amy B - I don’t know about equipment, but I haven’t been buying most of the “required” textbooks and it’s been fine. I mostly use board review books along with the syllabus to study. I did buy embryology, immunology, and Netter’s.
Take my advice - find one or two other students to share the cost. Our instructor for this class made it appear as though we’d use these items constantly, esp after we hit the wards. So, I jumped up & bought the high-tech, xenon, light-weight ultra expensive set. I can count on one hand the number of times I have used it. Even in my med schools standardized pt exam rooms, there are plug-in models hanging on the wall. It was a $600+ waste of my student loan money…even though, at the time, it felt cool as hell to buy them.
Thought I’d let you guys know that I ended up buying an opthalmoscope after all. I waited a couple of months, then broke down and got one on ebay. I only paid $215 for the whole deal, so I don’t feel too ripped off. And hopefully, I can resell when I’m done with it.
It definitely came in handy while preparing for the OSCE (standardized patient) exam that I just took. They had them in the rooms, but it was nice to have one to practice with at home & school. And, I have tried to look in my kids’ ears, but they don’t like it.
Ebay is a great place to find stuff like this, but you have to hit it at the right time. When I looked a few months earlier, there were no good deals. When I bought this one (in May), there were several available at reasonable prices.
Hope this helps someone!
Pam
You bet! I got mine on ebay (and my stethoscope). Significant savings!