Animal health essentials: Stethoscope requirements for large animal veterinarians

Imagine a medical career where you see about 600 patients a day, treating many of them outdoors in a dusty, hot environment.

Welcome to the life of a dairy veterinarian.

As a partner at Dairy Veterinary Services, a veterinary practice based in Phoenix, Arizona, Michelle Schack DVM performs wellness checks and preventative medicine on dairy cattle herds throughout the state. Essential medical equipment includes a portable bovine ultrasound scanner with compatible goggles and a Littmann® Stethoscope, both of which must withstand heavy use in atypical conditions.

Herd-level health

Many of the farms Schack serves have been family-owned for generations. Herd size ranges from 500 to over 3,000. (The average herd size in Arizona is about 2,600.)

In a commercial farming environment, vets evaluate both individual and herd level health. “If one cow gets sick, we treat her,” says Schack. “If more than one cow contracts the same illness, we also investigate the source so we can prevent disease from spreading to others in the herd.”

Littmann stethoscopes’ flexible tubing allows Schack to tuck behind a front leg to listen to a 1,500-plus pound Holstein’s heart or stay at their side to auscultate the lung and gastrointestinal tract. “I can listen to a cow’s stomach without getting too close,” she says. “For safety reasons, it’s important to give cows some space.”

Essential, durable medical equipment

Schack bought her first Littmann stethoscope when she was in veterinary school, at University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, 13 years ago. She says it’s still going strong even after thousands of hours of use and lots of cleaning.

Many veterinarians and veterinary students—particularly small-animal vets—have recently transitioned to the Littmann CORE Digital Stethoscope. With up to 40x amplification (at peak frequency, compared to analog mode), the Littmann CORE digital stethoscope helps veterinarians diagnose conditions such as heart murmurs and pneumonia. Active noise cancellation helps drown out external noises in chaotic environments.

When paired with the Eko app, veterinarians can see, record, and share sounds. That feature comes in handy when teaching veterinary students and technicians.

Teaching future dairy docs

When she’s not treating large animals, Schack spends much of her time educating farmers, farm workers, and the public. As cofounder of DairyKind, the educational arm of Dairy Veterinary Services, Schack provides training and resources on animal well-being to dairy farm employees across the country.

For those just setting out on their veterinary journey, Schack advises trying different things before they choose.