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Why cant we use expander with one less space?

Posted By: noname on 2005-09-29
In Reply to: It has been 1 space after periods - MQ FT

We havent gone to one space yet but I got the email this morning that they are working on the accounts and will notify us when our accounts are changed over.  Why cant you use the Expander with one space?  I dont know what I will do without my expander.  When you switched over, did you take a big cut in pay with the one less space?


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DQS to use only one space soon

They are going to have the DQS people put in only one space soon..email this morning stated they are going from account to account and will notify the employee when the account is ready to use only one space after periods and colons..If we do get paid for spaces, as I have been told we do, that means we will get a cut in pay because the second space after each sentence will not be counted in our line count.


1 less space
well, imagine that!! they're on a rolllll -- 20% less on line rate for ME work -- makes ya wonder what's next!!! i think i'm getting about ready to get the heck out of Dodge before the bullets start flying!!
no space pay
the bottom line is that they SHOULD be charging the client because it is still a keystroke and this will continue to happen where we are not getting paid for what we are doing. We hit the spacebar, it is a keystroke, we should be compensated for it. Period.

Otherwiseifwearenotbeingcompensatedforspacestheytheydonotgetspaces!!!!

My opinion, of course, but I am sure that many agree.
MY Space
Oh just an FYI. Robin Hall happens to have a My Space page. You can go to it by going to my space.com and just entering /robin_hall. If that doesn't work, try doing a search for Four Seasons Transcription. Maybe we can all go there and leave a message letting her know we as MTs are tired of putting up with people like her. I am 4 paychecks behind myself and Christmas is coming.
space pay

Compensation on one of the jobs on the jobs board says:


You get paid for a 65-character line PLUS spaces! 


Wow!  I am sure glad they invented the exclamation point!  It really makes me excited to hear stuff like this, especially when so vehemently punctuated!  It's exciting to get paid for spaces, especially when they are so necessary for clarity! 


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 


 


 


Pay for space
I work for a company that does not pay for spaces and it takes forever to get line count required, but I needed the job and the benefits at the time.  It seems like MTs are going backward in pay per line instead of forwards.  Everyone wants a good MT with years and years of experience, but no one wants to pay for our knowledge.     I have seen some pay as low as 6 to 7 cents a line for a seasoned MT.  One company told me they like to make the money, but only offered me 7 cents a line for 30 years experience.   I like to make the money too.  I turned it down.    I went from hourly pay down to pay per line.   Devastating too.  Only make half of what I used to, but at least what I am making is paying some bills and buying food, but nothing left for anything else anymore like I used to.  Very depressing.
It has been 1 space after periods
since the new Style Guidelines took effect or affect, Ha Ha and make sure you do not use your expansions. If they say COPD you cannot expand it; and what about making lists of everything from meds to past history, etc. etc. Anything to not pay you for those lines.

Oh and don't forget it is x2 not the word "times". That would be too many characters on the line and we cannot pay you for that.

What horse will you be traveling on. I'll be going with ya.
For elimination of one space in DQS

For eliminating one space in DQS.


Ctrl + Shift + F, 2 spaces, tab, 1 space


We do not have space for job-wanted ads. (SM)
Please feel free to post your resume on our free resume bank. As well, you can search our Job Seeker's board. The job advertisements there are very descriptive and you should be able to find something there.

Goldbird

If MTSO does want 1 space its because that 1
x
55 count space
I had a PT job that used 55. At the end of my day, I would divide total characters done by 55 and that gave me my line space and then I was paid 9 cents per line which was good for my PT job which I lost due to hospital keeping it all in-house and not outsourcing anything. I miss that money too.
one space between words
I have always only had 1 space between words, and I have been typing for over 25 years. I do have 2 spaces after periods and colons, but 2 spaces between words seems a bit excessive to me.
one space - who makes up these rules?
What I would like to know who makes these new rules up?  The email said new national standard, something like that.  I mean, how can someone change Americas punctuation and English rules?  I was taught way back when, when I first was taught typing in high school..two spaces..who changed the rules?  Is there a *standards judge*, LOL..A *spacer judge*..Who thinks these things up and if it is national standard, do the other MTSO's know about it?
Do 1 space and count lines and then do 2
It really doesn't affect the line count that much to do the 1 space after punctuation. I agree 100% that they are trying to whittle our wages away wherever, but I don't think this particular issue is a big one. I get virtually the same lines whether 1 space or 2 after sentences. I'm more concerned about the virtual black line that would eliminate ALL spaces like AAMT (or whatever it's called now) is pushing than just a few spaces per report. This is why it's so important for all MTs to know and understand every crazy line-count method out there!
I love Office Space...
Is it pathetic I've probably seen it 20 times and still laugh every time I watch it?

I seriously should expand my movie horizons, huh?

:D
which IC positions use 1 space after periods?
My FT job requires 1 space after periods, which took me a long time to adjust to. Now I would like to get a 2nd job as well but I don't want to mess up my typing trying to go back and forth between 1 and 2 spaces at jobs?  TIA
Have you compared line counts with 1 space vs. 2?
NM
Thanks for the information..I'm with you.. Not enough desk space or desire to pay a deposit
Probably pass too..
I have 2002, here is how mine is set to double space after sentences --sm
Open word.

Type a mispelled word, then press F7 to spellcheck.

Click on options. In the writing style box, mine says grammar only. Click on settings below that. Then you can select 2 spaces after a period in sentences.

Does that work for you?
HINT: Program only "reads" 1 space, no matter how many spaces you type.

They have you coming and going.


Mostly they have us by the pocketbooks because they REFUSE to share how the program counts.  THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL since that is how we are paid.


Would you work HOURLY for a company when they will not show you what kind of clock they are using to count what an hour is?


We are paid by production!  PRODUCTION.  It should not be a mystery how to count our PRODUCTION.


I just dont want to hit that extra space if I dont get paid for it, ya know. No message.
nmnmnm
Expander
As long as it will work with Windows-based programs then whatever expander you use should work in Merit. I use Shorthand with no problems but have no experience with the one you mentioned.
expander?

I worked for a small local company, and only did proofreading, no transcripton, so I'm embarassed to say I don't even know what an expander is.


Expander
As long as your Expander is Windows-based it will work with the Merit platform.
I only use my expander, AUT.
dfsdsd
expander
I'm not a window person but their window program is easy, easy, easy. I use ShortHand as an Expander because it is not limited except by the size of your hard drive - autocorrect is limited, so rather than have everything going on at once, I disabled autocorrect and stayed strictly with Shorthand and made my own custom dict. This is truly a great company but don't play around with your schedule. If you commit to a certain time, be there. They need to know they can depend on you for TAT. I've never had a problem with them. They are great, but they do have standards like not abusing QA because you don't want to take the time to check it out yourself. Otherwise, go for it.
expander
Can you use an Expander with it?
Anyone out here with JLG, what expander do you use? (sm)

I have one that I use to help me with DQS on my full time job, but find it doesn't work that well for me with JLG and I don't want to take the chance of having it set up for JLG and then screw up my FT job.  I also haven't been able to figure JLG's out (don't laugh!) correctly and I'm looking for something else to supplement it/replace it so I can get my line count up higher (only working there part time).  What Expander works for you???


expander
The one I use is ShortHand 8.60v. Having enough money to eat is my motivator I guess!
What expander do you use?

Do you use shorthand? 


expander
when people talk about extext and they use ShortHand and the built in esp, are they referring to shorthand as their own shortcuts or something different?  I don't want to sound stupid but just wanting to make sure I understand!  Thank you for your help!
expander
The platform I am on uses Instant Text ...
I don't use an expander.
It is just a really, really easy ER account with tons of work.
Expander.

I came from a company that used word perfect and honestly I loved it because I was used to it.  Setting up and using macros was easy for me and came naturally after all that time.  I have tried some free demo Expanders and have a hard time getting used to the automatic additions but I'm getting there.  I have not been impressed with the demos and can't see spending the money on the ones I've tried.  I have since been using the word auto correct and auto text. 


I'm thinking about trying Instant Text from the reviews on here and other forums, but the price tag is a little put offish for me.  I don't mind putting the money into if it gives me the money in return, obviously.  Has anybody tried this and regretted the purchase?  Being Christmas time and having 3 kids and a large extended family to think about the coming month, I don't want to put this kind of money into myself, aah, y'all know what I mean. 


Shortly, is it totally worth it to buy for myself at this time of the year???


can you use IT expander?
Also, does their platform come with its own expander?  Thank you all!
yes, it comes with its own expander.
(and remember, this platform was developed by/with MTs)...and a big plus is that you can bring most Expanders in with this platform. I brought years and years of stuff from MQ and they integrated it into their expander. I'm not 100% on IT, but i believe i've seen where you can use it too.
Expander
Hi, I posted yesterday regarding using PC ShortHand as your Expander for a Meditech account. I neglected to tell you that you will have to purchase that software on your own. KS does not supply that. Good luck!
It is in you and in your expander.
x
expander
Can you at least print a list of your expansions in case you need to manually redo them?
But were you using an expander? NM
x
No using expander?
Please tell me you are just assuming this? I do VR and still use my Expander just fine. If you have troubles with your headings/subheadings, you can make shorts for them so they go where they need, etc. Wrong word? Just use your short for it and delete the incorrect one. One big tip - take your hands off your home row, that is bad in VR. I know, I know, we have been brainwashed to it for straight typing, but its a no, no for VR, you will probably use your Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys far more.

Gals, its really not all bad. You will lose money at first, but as the VR results improve, your major editing will be less and less and your pay back up where you need it to be.

Oh, and if you are using escription, I had heard a while back there VR was excellent, doesn't take long at all to train it.
Can anyone tell me about Medware's expander?
Hi!  Is there anyone that can tell me about the type of expander Medware includes with its software?  I have seen in the Medware ad that they have this and would like to know some specs.  Is it good or should I get Smartype?  THANKS!!
Medware's expander

I personally use Shorthand rather than theirs. I don't think the built-in one is bad, it is just more limited than I prefer. If I remember correctly the names of the macros are limited to a certain # of characters. I do know a lot of people there use it though, so it can't be all bad. Me, I like Shorthand because of the "hints" window that they use, which shows you if there is an entry that matches the letters you have typed.


Here is a link for Shorthand, if you are interested. They have a free trial period.


Medware expander
No, their expander is not good.  It is very limiting.  You will do much better with your own expander, like Smartype or Shorthand. 
Medrite Expander
How do you activate the Expander in Medrite? Does it show a list of what you have added in case you don't remember your entries, i.e., like the little yellow box that is available in Shorthand?
If you aren't using an expander just think how
many more lines you could produce with an Expander and then that would be like gettin a raise.
I have been using my expander for years

as well, so of course most of the things I don't need to be reminded.  But sometimes it does help, like if I have made a normal for a certain doctor or whatever, because some doctors have SEVERAL different normals so if I have something pop up that helps me to remember which is which, then that helps.  With the Bayscribe Expander you have to actually go into it (unless you use the Quick Bar) to see what is under a particular abbreviation. 


Yes, work that expander (sm)
I know that when I was at a hospital there was a limit to how much you could put in  your text Expanders because there was only so much memory for them.  Now that I'm at a service and there's no limit, I consistently do 300+ lph. 

I am lucky in that my main account has maybe 15 regular dictators I can get used to and I have a lot of entire reports saved (common stuff like colonoscopies or cholecystectomies, and I just make changes as they say them).  I do have to be flexible, though, 'cuz if my main account's caught up I get my backup account(s).  My line count goes down when that happens, but not by all that much.

When I was at the hospital, sometimes people would ask me for help and I'd watch them type a sentence or two and I'd be like they didn't put 'chest x-ray' or 'physical examination' in an expander?  I think there's a book or an article somewhere that can help you make most of expanders (sorry, don't remember where; search the archives here and you can probably find it).
Cymed expander

I was just wondering what kind of Expander Cymed uses?


Thanks


Best expander for BeyondTXT
 I know this comes with ShortCuts which seems okay but has anyone found another you think is a better fit? TIA.
Oh my. You actually use that term enough to need an expander?
nm