see inside

Need feedback on VR (am feeling so inadequate) inside.... [2008-11-26]
I have not been able to double my lines. Most of the time there is no formatting, having to add a's, an, the, change sentences, add what VR left out even though heard correctly. When I talked to the manager, she say I am not embracing the software. I feel with so much editing even if the next report is better, I lose so much time on that report and others like it that even having several reports pretty good albeit bad formatting, like not capitalized headings, all clumped together and having to separate out, I lose a lot of valuable time. Idon't know how I can embrace anymore, I do use the tricks and tips but it doesn't help with the amount of editing. Is it just me, some people aren't cut out for it. When I pointed out at 600 lines I was actually being paid for 300 lines at regular rate but half at 600 lines and she was shocked I felt that way. That with VR it is so much faster. It seems when I compare the two, I am 500 lines a day short of straight dictation from previous. I know it is supposed to take time but how do you do that when your bills are still the same?

see inside... [2008-11-18]
Hey cj....Not sure about being incorporated, but I am an IC and my husband and I formed a partnership in our state (MT), and we deduct everything that we can for the business each year. I don't know much else, as my husband does all our financial stuff, and we do use a CPA also... But the only tax we pay is 15% social security. You might want to see if that is better than incorporating in your state. Hope that helps some....

why on 1 computer for the same report would the word count be different in Word? (inside) [2008-11-12]
Like on 1 computer with word the document was 27000 character counts w/spaces and the other computer (the one i type this account on says 13,000. How can there be such a difference with Word being the same? I am baffled.

Link inside sm [2008-11-04]
It is an Adesso PCK-308UB. There is also one that uses a PS/2 plug, but I want this one so I can use it with my laptop if I need it. From what I have read, it is basically like a touchpad on a laptop so you don't need a mouse. I probably would not use it for regular web surfing or anything, mainly just for mousing while transcribing. http://www.thenerds.net/ADESSO.Adesso_PCK_308UB_Tru_Form_Pro_Contoured_Ergonomic_Keyboard.PCK308UB.html

This is what I found comparing the 2.....inside [2008-11-03]
I jumped in 100% enthused to do VR with a good VR program, I really liked the resting of the wrists, etc. I learned the short cuts, implemented every help they gave but what I found was if I have to separate the headings on every op, take out sentences because the doctor changed his mind, add sentences or phrases, change phrases, add a, the, put in whole sentences that VR left out for no rhyme or reason, it didn't matter if I was just reading along and believe me this was a good VR program Ex-Text, I just couldn't double my lines and it drove me crazy all the changes I had to make. If I got 3 good dictations in a row, I found I would 3 bad dictations, and remember, new residents messed it all up all over again, all this for half pay. I compared them side by side on another computer I finally got a job with another company for straight typing and found I could make $30 to $40 more a day straight typing, that is just average some days it was more. So, even though I liked the concept of doubling my lines to make the same money in less time, I don't think it can happen consistently, for me anyway. I know these companies going to it push it relentlessly and almost desperately. I don't know why, they can't be taking a 30 to 40 dollar hit per Transcriptionist a day, there has to be some advantage that they push it so hard. One last thing, I went into VR determined to give it my all and I did, but I was alway 500 lines of doubling my lines. Some days it was just constant changing of things other days 2 out of 3 of changing but no days of not changing dumb things.

try 35 yrs, 8 cpl still. see inside [2008-10-24]
cpl has NOTHING to do with longevity even tho they say they pay according to experience, thats bait. they pay according to how much the account pays, and that's a bidding war with MTSO trying to outdo each other. I've found higher pay = harder dictators, slower platforms. You need to listen to MissIndigo's post. she is right. the buck starts and stops right here - in your own hot little hands - no matter what.

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling? Like completely off your computer...(inside) [2008-10-17]
then reinstalling it. I have worked on so many different programs, not yours, but never have I not been able to use Shorthand. It just does not interfere with programs. something is stopping it. Maybe you need to have your company reinstall their program, then install ShortHand again. It is just impossible for it not to work.

MediNotes/Eclipsys - link inside [2008-10-17]
MediNotes is an EMR platform.

Link inside. nm [2008-10-16]
http://www.med.yale.edu/labmed/clinical/labman/labidx.html#A

First exercise link inside! [2008-10-08]
Sorry, I had the cleaned up versions before on another post, but it got wiped out when the kindly mod moved my post! Hopefully this will work!

Don't look things up more than once. See message inside. [2008-10-02]
I use a program called Lil Red Notebook (LRN) it is very inexpensive, with a free trial. When you have to look something up, you need to make a note of it someplace, so if you don't remember it later it will be faster than looking it up all over again. I started using my LRN when I was an MT student over 5 years ago, and I still use it daily. It is much faster to look things up there, instead of starting from scratch. You can also put the definition of things in there to help you, such as the difference between advise and advice if you have trouble remembering. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by using macros - do you have an expander? That is definitely something you need, either ShortHand or Instant Text would be of huge benefit.

URL for Lil Red Notebook inside [2008-10-02]
Sorry, I meant to add the website, although you can find it quickly by using Google. http://www.horusdevelopment.com/rednotebook.html

Ebay - found this on my first search - link inside [2008-09-21]
There are a lot on ebay from reputable sellers. http://cgi.ebay.com/WINDOWS-MICROSOFT-OFFICE-SMALL-BUSINESS-2003-OEM-WORD_W0QQitemZ160282866947QQihZ006QQcategoryZ80288QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have one...there is a link inside [2008-09-11]
http://www.aaaprice.com/indb9.html Mine is in a box and is very gently used...

See inside......... [2008-09-10]
See article pieces below and please be careful and take care! In Texas' Brazoria County, authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation for the 77541 postal code early Wednesday. The rest of the county was for the moment under voluntary evacuation instructions, they said. A mandatory evacuation order went into effect in the coastal area immediately south of Galveston, Texas, early Wednesday, Brazoria County officials said. You can read the entire story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080910/ts_alt_afp/usweatherstormtexas

see link inside--sm [2008-09-05]
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm

See inside. [2008-09-04]
http://www.ucomparehealthcare.com/ You can look up by state, by dr name, speciality, city, etc.

Please see inside... [2008-09-03]
I do MT so I can stay home with my kids thing if we want to look professional. The above is what the person said this is what we have to get rid of to look professional. Well that's bullcrap. Many of us are professionals and stay home with our kids. These are her words above, not mine. Then down at the bottom is I may keep it as a side gig. Her words not mine. I think it's a slam against a hardworking MT that stays home with his/her kids. It can be done, and it is very successful. There are even MTs that home school, so where does this person get off saying we are not professionals if we work at home with children. Her words not mine.

When we are not making a decent enough wage to buy our kids food and clothes, it is like (inside) [2008-09-01]
the little kid who wants a toy from another child and runs to his mother and whines he won't give it to me. Just another way for them to try to force more money out of already tired pockets. I for one will not pay for that until they fight for wages to be increased. Let them go out of business like a lot of us have had to do. Now they want to make us pay for the lack of money they are getting from India because I am sure they aren't buying into it, and believe me I don't hate the Indians for wanting to work, it is not them, it is the American company's greed. When transcription companies can spend millions and millions of dollars to buy each other out, you know it is a lucarative business. Why are they cramming voice down our throats at half pay? You can't tell me they are taking half pay, plus half pay is not enough when speech is not trained. Vote for Obama! He says he will close the loop holes for American Corporations to send our jobs overseas.

Labor Stats from Dept of Labor for MT inside [2008-08-28]
This is quite interesting...it is too long to post here but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the statistics. Thanks! tp://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:eGxrU1X5lOEJ:www.bls.gov/oco/ocos271.htm+how+much+to+become+certified+Medical+Transcriptionhl=enct=clnkcd=1gl=us

Please don't; read link inside. [2008-08-22]
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/320/RipOff0320581.htm

I was hijacked like you once and spent all day trying to get (inside) [2008-08-15]
rid of it, it hijacked everything and sent me to sites I had never been, could not get to Yahoo my home site. Finally I downloaded Hijack (that is what it is called). It is a free program and that did it. I had everything back to normal. I just followed their instructions and walla it was back to normal.

All you do is on your other computer with your dictionaries....inside [2008-08-14]
copy whatever you named your SPF file, like I have a main SPF file and another for dictation macros for the account I am on. Just copy them to a flash drive or whatever medium you use to backup your SPF file, plug your flash drive (which is what I use)and then when it comes up on your computer where you need your SPF file, copy it and put it in your ShortHand file. You could have copied your whole Shorthand file and then put it on your new computer or new hard drive (that is what I do because I don't like the new Shorthand versions). Hope I explained this clearly.

Link inside provided as food for thought [2008-08-14]
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/320/RipOff0320581.htm

QA scale--see inside--sm [2008-08-13]
I would think each company woudl have its own criteria, but this is one from an account I helped draft. DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF Quality Assurance SCORING CATEGORIES Medical Word Omitted (CTRL1) Point Value � 1.0 Omitted medical words found in a trusted medical publication source (dictionary, specialty word book, drug index etc). In CS.com, there is not a distinction between critical/noncritical. Medical Word Misspelled (CTRL2) Point Value � 0.75 Misspelled medical words found in a trusted medical publication source (dictionary, specialty word book, drug index etc). This includes failure to adhere to AAMT Book of Style Dangerous Abbreviations list, as well as other medically related errors addressed in this reference guide, that could potentially harm a patient. In CS.com, there is not a distinction between critical/noncritical. Measurements typed incorrectly. Typing wrong form of word. Punctuation (CTRL3) Point Value � 0.25 Punctuation that is omitted or included in error that changes the meaning of a sentence, having the potential to cause harm to a patient. Capitalization (CTRL4) Point Value � 0.25 Capitalization that is omitted or included in error that changes the meaning of a sentence, having the potential to cause harm to a patient. Grammar (CTRL5) Point Value � 0.10 Any grammatical errors. English Word Misspelled (CTRL6) Point Value � 0.50 Misspelled general words. Omitted Word Minor(CTRL7) Point Value � 0.25 Omitted word that is not critical to the meaning of the sentence. Typed extra word that does not not cause misunderstanding to the meaning of the sentence. Omitted Word Major(CTRL8) Point Value � 0.75 Omitted word that is critical to the meaning of the sentence. Omitted modality in the title. Contrast vs. noncontrast Changed format (no techniques on required studies, no history, etc.).

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai/financial districts. [2008-11-26]
Dozens killed in India terror attacks var yahooBuzzArticleId = 'usatoday:http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/11/dozens-killed-i.html?csp=34'; yahooBuzzArticleId Buzz up! Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz There now are reports of as many as 80 people dead -- a number that is likely to rise -- in apparent terror attacks aimed at tourists and travelers in Mumbai, India. Reuters is reporting that at least 250 people have been wounded in the attacks, which appear targeted at tourists. In addition, Indian television is reporting Westerners are being held hostage at at least two hotels. News networks and wire services are reporting there have been at least seven separate attacks in the city, largely at luxury hotels and restaurants. I heard some gunshots around 9:30. I was with my friends. Something hit me. I ran away and fell on the road. Then somebody picked me up. I have injuries below my shoulder, Reuters reporter Sourav Mishra said from a hospital bed, Reuters reported.The Times of India reports there have been eight separate attacks, including a major terror strike at a large passenger railway station. Our coverage is here. (Television broadcast capture of a fire at the Oberoi hotel in Mumbia courtesy NDTV, via AP) Update at 3:57 p.m. ET: According to the AP, gunmen are known to have attacked a major train station, a well-known restaurant, two luxury hotels and a police station.A previously unknown group calling itself Deccan Mujahideen has sent e-mail to news organizations claiming responsibility for the attacks, the Times of India is reporting. The AP now lists the death toll at 78. There are multiple reports that attacks are continuing.

You know, I read your post... [2008-11-17]
I am also an IC that works from a pool. I have two accounts on my own. Part of being an IC is the flexibility. I would say dig in early in the a.m. if that's when you are most productive. If the kids have a question, then lend an ear but if it is a matter of you having to leave your workstation for whatever reason, then either tell them to find an alternative this minute or you'll be able to take them at such and such a time. Here's what happens when you go from what you are currently doing to trying to work a schedule, you can't stay focused. You are so used to the interruptions that once it's quiet, it's hard to stay focused. I am feeling ya' and a lot of people will post here that you should only be working and not doing other things, but other things are part of life and what makes working at home work. A little play on words there, but I think you get the idea. I get hugs from my 8 year old and questions from my 14 year old and quite frankly sometimes I don't know if the 14 year old is inside or out, but he's so used to me being here, that I know he's fine and making the right decisions.

I love my old softflex... [2008-11-17]
and need a new pair, I even turned them inside out and switched hands, ha-ha. Great padding on the wrists. If I forget to put them on, I notice it very quickly. I'll even forget I have them on sometimes and go out to the kitchen and nearly get them wet in the sink before I realize it, they feel part of me. Well worth the money, think I'll get me a new pair for my birthday.

mangled tape [2008-10-28]
I was able to take the cassette apart to get the tape inside unmangled, but now I'm trying to figure out how to roll it back up as tight as I can so it doesn't happen again, and I don't know how to do that. I have a few feet of tape hanging out and I can't roll it tight by hand unless I want to spend days on it, and it still may night be tight enough around the spool. The tape is intact so I don't think I need any splicing. I'm think right now this is just ridiculous that I'm having to do this and yes, the doctor is technotarded. He kept erasing his dictation accidentally on the digital recorder so went back to using cassette tapes.

Spellex medical spellchecker and line count software [2008-10-27]
Does anyone use this program. Is it any good. I have abacus right now that I have had for about 8 or 9 years and I really like it but I just upgraded to Word 2007 and I don't like the way it does the new count. It is a stand alone now instead of working inside Word and it does not seem to be as accurate and function as well. Also I have Dorlands electronic medical spellchecker and I really like it because it will correct things automatically that I misspell and stuff and it words directly in Word but it is not compatible with Word 2007. Does anyone have any advice on this or any software that is good and works with Word 2007? Thanks

mangled mini cassette tape [2008-10-27]
I have a sony mini-cassette tape that is bunched up on the inside to the point where I can no longer pull it to straighten it out. It is just stuck. This has a full day of dictation on it. Anyone know a gentle way of trying to pry this cassette apart? It's the only way I can straighten up the tape. I did it once before over a year ago and it took 4 hours, but it worked, but I don't remember what I used. I don't know how it happened. I just want to fix it because I'll have to be the one to tell this doctor he has to do his dictation all over and it won't be pretty. Thanks.

used to prefer stethoscope [2008-10-08]
but now find i just don't want anything inside my ears at all -- didn't want to mess with batteries, so found (on ebay) some Bose over-the-ear kind. Very good sound, very comfortable ear cushion, long cord, great swivel ear/headband part and they passively block outside sound very well.

No I'm not making it harder. you shouldn't rely on the 'prompt to save' as your only def [2008-08-26]
Unfortunately, some proprietary platforms seem to run two instances of MSword (as best as I can tell) which prevents you from saving your normal dot. My post was addressed specifically to those who are encountering that problem. An Autoclose/AutoExit macro should save the normal dot for you, and may be the ONLY way you can save it, even if you have selected the prompt for normal save on your options toolbar. In any case, autoclose and/or autoexit macro that saves your normal dot will ensure that most, if not all of your recent autocorrect/autotext/macros present in your normal dot are saved, should you have an unexpected power failure or crash, orif you are using a template that is provided to you by an employer -- a template which may have been programmed in such a way as to prevent your normal dot from being when you exit word. In any case, whether or not the prompt to save normal template is selected really shouldn't affect whether or not the normal is saved, the normal should automatically be saved as you exit MsWord. The fact that normal.dot doesn't always save is, or worse vanishes entirely,is just one of these weird idiosyncracies which sometimes makes word (which really is a pretty wonderful program) so frustrating to use. (Hint, back up your normal.dot -- frequently!) In my experience, the only time that a template reliably does not save is if you are writing macros (as opposed to recording macros) and if you fail to manually save your changes inside your Editor before exiting word. I have had the experience more than once of opening word to find that my newly programmedtemplate is gone -- sometimes representing many hours of work-- and that is where the prompt to savetoolbar option really can be useful. In short, I am fully aware of the prompt to save normal in the options toolbar (and mine is selected to prompt) and if I had thought this wasbest solution for the professional medical transcriptionist,I would not have bothered posting this information in the first place. So to make a long post short: The best solution to make absolutely sure your normal dot is savedis to useautoclose and/or autoexitmacros that instruct word to save your normal template, and don't just depend on the save normal prompt on your toolbar. Regard it as an extra precaution, which is what it really is, don't depend on it, it can get unselected, and poof your normal.dot is gone! For someone who just writes an occasional letter or term paper on with MSword the occasional loss of the normal.dot, albeit aggravating, probably isn't all that serious, but for the MT who depends on her paycheck to support her family, losing her normal dot and its 37,954 autocorrect entries is a real economic hardship. She just might appreciate knowing that there is something she can do to prevent this from happening, even thoughyou happen to think it is complicated. Isn't this forum here to provide fellow MTs with useful information they can use or not as they please?Medical transcription after all, isn't a game or a hobby, it is real grown-up work, and it is prudent to take the time do real grown up things to maintain the tools of the trade. Unlike some posts I have seen, particularly on the word-help forum that just make me want to scream, I will not post useless or wrong information -- even if it is complicated -- after all it's just information. Writing autoclose/autoexit macros to save your normal dot are not pointless or useless exercises; and in any case you can disregard my posts, or not, as you please.

IT DocQscribe [2008-07-28]
Hi all, I'm currently job shopping and found a position that uses DocQscribe, but I was told that I can't use instant text, that I have to use what is provided inside of DQS. Can anyone give me some insight, is there a workaround?

CHEAP recorder, awesome sound! [2008-07-22]
My doctor uses an Olympus ws110, which he paid less than $70.00 for. He dictates, it comes apart and has a USB connector inside. It plugs into his computer, he downloads the dictations, and he e-mails them to me. I type them, e-mail them back. You can get digital signatures in e-mail for around $20 each (one for you, one for her) and no one can open the e-mails but you two. I love the whole set up! Best of luck to you.

Pedal problems [2008-07-12]
I ended up buying the programable Start-Stop pedal with the switch on the bottom (inside). This still gave me problems. It was the same with either pedal! I ended up not taking that job after trying EVERYTHING to get my pedal and computer to work right with InScribe. I tried 3 different computers, re-formatted 2 of the computers, starting my computer with only the bare essentials running, installed more memory.....You name it! The only thing I can guess is that my computer is too old, or the processor is not powerful enough. I did use Express Scribe and it worked just fine, except for the formatted blank (time stamp). Wish I could be of more help, I know how frustrating it is!

Problems viewing inside posts. [2008-07-08]
I've been viewing the Jobseeker's Board for a couple of weeks now but in the last few days, when I open a post, the inside text extends over the right and left sides. Posts that opened okay last week are now opening this way and it is impossible to see all the text. Is it just me? Does anyone know how to fix this?

Maybe if you try [2008-07-08]
to search inside files for a known abbreviation, the results might get ya started.

Carpal Tunnel recovery [2008-06-30]
Hey All, I have been putting off surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, and am wondering if any of you have had carpal tunnel surgery. How long was it before you could return to full-time transcription? How much releif did the surgery give? I also have developed a nodule on the inside of my right thumb, right where it hits the spacebar and am having to hold my wrists up higher, like I am playing the piano, so I don't hit that spot on my thumb, and that makes my arms get numb faster than they usually do. What a mess! I just can't keep going much longer,but Iam scared of the financial loss of not working for any period of time Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

Odds are good [2008-06-24]
that you took a lesser pay to do VR, thinking that it was going to save your hands and maybe give them a break, even get away from carpal tunnel. What you have found is a decrease in the paycheck despire the company reassurances that you will soon get up to 300 LPH because that is what your trainer is doing. First, the trainer can pick and choose which dictations will help her get that 300 LPH. Second, she likely has been working for the same company for 14 years and knows all the doctors inside and out. Third, you are not going to be getting the dictators that work well with VR. (I hate to burst that bubble). Fourth, you will find that they are still charging the contract hospital the same amount of money whether you type it or they use VR and you have to re-type it for lesser pay and the same amount of time (or more time) if you had typed it outright. I suggest going back to transcribing 100%. Even 50% VR with good dictators is going to keep your paycheck down and their profits up.

I used to work in an onc office [2008-06-20]
and I can tell you that even though the doctors may sound cold when dictating, most of them are not that way in the office. As for feeling sad for the patients, I cried at least once a week when I worked in that office (and I only worked 2 days a week). I got very attached to these patients as many of them were coming every week for their treatments. But in the end, I felt privileged to have worked there. I made it my job to get to know these patients personally, to let them know that someone does care. Many of them left our office smiling and that made me feel good inside. My OB once asked me if it was depressing, and I told him that while losing a patient in our office was always sad, but the patients were no longer in pain, and that I would rather deal with that loss than trying to explain to a new mother the loss of a baby any day. He agreed, said he never thought of it that way. I'm currently working on a children's hospital and it's very saddening some days. The pediatric oncology is the worst, though. You just never expect something like that to happen to your family. You just kind of wake up one day and cancer has reared its ugly head.

have found that [2008-06-06]
when I get itchy ears, I take the foamies off the headset, take them to the kitchen sink, wash them gently with 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing detergent, rinse well with as hottest water you can stand on your hands and use towel to squeeze dry. Viola! Headsets trap bacteria inside the ear that otherwise airs out when the headset is not on. Regular, weekly washing of foam covers does the trick. Also helps prevent ear pain. If your ears start hurting, sterilize the foamies.

A Modern Parable --- see msg. [2008-05-28]
Some of you have probably already read this before, but for those that haven't, this was too close to reality for all of us,so I just had to share: A Modern Parable:A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to equal the competition and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.The next year the Japanese won by two miles.Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses. The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India ..Sadly, the End.Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages.TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . The last quarter's results:TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.Ford folks are still scratching their heads and collecting bonuses��. IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.

stedman/mysis [2008-05-27]
Does anybody know how to make the Stedman's spellchecker work inside Mysis? Works fine in Word 2003, is useless so far in Mysis.

Expanders [2008-05-21]
You definitely want to use some kind of word/text expander, whether it's Word's Auto-Correct or Auto-Text utilities or some other retail product. They're especially useful for alphanumeric terms and phrases that are dictated frequently but not so consistently that using a macro is possible every time that situation arises. Once you get the hang of it and figure out how your brain best remembers expansion clues, you can create your shortcuts quickly and they won't be difficult to remember as you're typing. If you're like me, I hate having to type out -year-old after every age, so although it took a little time, I created an entry for every age from 1 to 99 that I key in as the age followed by yo, e.g., 43yo, which then expands to 43-year-old. For phrases or multiple-word terms, some MTs like to create a shortcut using just the first letter of each word. That works for a lot of things but not everything because of accepted abbreviations. I create shortcuts based on what my brain knows it will remember and how it feels when I type it. I experiment with it a little bit until I come up with a shortcut that will fly off my fingertips. I use lapchole for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but avh for auditory or visual hallucinations. Be creative! You can also create custom toolbars for various accounts and/or speakers, then create toolbar buttons out of Auto-Text entries for longer passages or pain-in-the-neck stuff like inside addresses you type frequently, and drag and drop them to those custom toolbars. It takes a couple of minutes to set up a toolbar button, but it's worth it for certain kinds of text expansion data. Another tip: Create a toolbar on your desktop for your work-related programs and resources. To do it, right click on your system tray, select Toolbars, and give your new toolbar a name. I call mine My MT. Then create a folder on your desktop with the same name you gave your new toolbar. Drag and drop or copy links to the items you want in your toolbar to the new desktop folder, and voila, they immediately show up on your toolbar. Customize your icons so you can easily find the one you want, and keep your link names short to maximize how many links your toolbar can hold and use the space efficiently. The kinds of links I have on my My MT toolbar include Google, One-Look, Word, Excel, My Documents (shortened to Docs), platform links, Volume and Audio controls...anything you know you use a lot and don't like having to minimize windows for to find on your desktop. Have fun!

I too use only Word autocorrect [2008-05-18]
I do not want to deal with drop down menus. Also, if you clear out old entries once a while, it will free up space although knock on wood I haven't had a problem with space. I just refuse to have to think of abbreviations while I type. I have just enough to not to have to transcribe the longer words. I have some phrases and I also have entire paragraphs, but I do not do a whole array of dictators. I have only about 10 that I constantly transcribe, so I guess it's easier in that respect. I also have documents in Word that are just basic templates that I pull from to transcribe the clinic work that I do and those already have the paragraphs inside. I also have read that you can make blatent errors with expanders, so you may want to be careful and really watch what is expanding instead of worrying so much about being so speedy. These are people's health records, it is isn't just a job that it's okay if it expands wrong because really it isn't okay. It is someone's health. And while I'm on the subject, I am sort of tired of hearing about lines per hour. What happend to quality? I am fairly fast, but I don't like to be too speedy since that's when errors are made and I really don't care how many lines per hour I can do as long as I'm accurate. I do fine in the salary department.

Taxes...Something else.. [2008-05-14]
One has to report and file a l l income, made outside and/or inside the US, and the IRS decides which income is taxable and which not. Any income made abroad is not taxable in the US, as it is already taxed abroad and no income can be taxed twice. Only income that is e a r n e d in the US is taxable in the US. I am pretty sure that I am right about that.

nothing to it really, but [2008-05-12]
it was awhile before i discovered to get the 1st letter following a period to auto-cap, i had to go into the bayscribe player options. i also didn't realize for awhile that putting my cursor outside the text box enabled some of the maneuvering 'hot' keys to work better, and inside the text box for others. but i use a kinesis keyboard and that may have something to do with it. the system is so easy there is virtually no training necessary for platform; its all the other details! Welcome aboard!

I have Vista... (sm) [2008-05-09]
It came with a trial version ofWord 2007 and I hated it. Couldn't even try all the features because it was a trial version.I got rid of it and installed my Word 2000. I can't say I like Vista but I'm stuck with it. I'm having a problem with the Search feature. It just doesn't find some files that are definitely there. When Iscroll manuallythrough the directory,I see the files and can edit them.It's very random and the filesdon't fit specific criteria, such as before or after a certain date. Sometimes it shows two versions of the file with different dates, but inside they are identical. It also sees files that have been deleted. If I try to delete it again, it says it can't be found. It worked fine at first but after a couple of months it gradually went flaky. There may be a setting that got messed up but if so, I don't know what or where to find it. The Help feature is pitiful. So that's my story about Vista and, not to hijack your post, but I'd appreciate any advice that anyone has about this problem.

I might add... [2008-04-24]
that the people in AA meetings are likely to be more genuine than the people in most churches. Anyone watch Inside a Cult on the National Geographic Channel last night?