iPods help docs improve stethoscope skills

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Study authors Mike Barrett and Archana Saxena listen to heart sounds on an iPod. They found that repetitive listening improved physicians stethoscope skills significantly. Credit: Joseph V. Labolito Temple University Photography
Study authors Mike Barrett and Archana Saxena listen to heart sounds on an iPod. They found that repetitive listening improved physicians' stethoscope skills significantly. Credit: Joseph V. Labolito, Temple University Photography

Patients rely on their physicians to recognize signs of trouble, yet for common heart murmurs, that ability is only fair at best. Fortunately, the solution is simple: listening repeatedly. In fact, intensive repetition — listening at least 400 times to each heart sound — significantly improved the stethoscope abilities of doctors, according to a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting.


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