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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Re: expanding with punctuation, more info inside

Posted By: Jazz on 2007-06-21
In Reply to: Good. I Don't Like the Expander, though - Amanda

I have been working on this platform for over a year and absolutely LOVE it. It is not the same as autocorrect expansions. This platform offers a LOT more.

I will type this directly from my manual to explain how the ESP abbreviations are expanded:

Press or type a delinter (a spacebar, enter, period, colon, semicolon, comma, question mark or exclamation point) that is appropriate to the sentence text or punctuation. The exapansion appears AS SOON AS you type the delimiter.

You can highlight entire sentences, paragraphs, etc and enter them directly into the ESP list and make a short abbrev. to retrieve them.

To add an ESP, press control, control and type it directly in, or highlight text in your document and then press control control and name your short abbreviation for it.

Sometimes, depending if your sentences are really LONG you will have to copy/paste directly into ESP and then give it a short.

In addition, with ESPs you can format words to be BOLD by inserting a tag. You can also put a tag in for something underlined, italic, etc. They also allow you to insert pauses and backups in your ESP so that you can type yof and get the hyphen first -year-old female.

Pauses are really neat when you want to nest an ESP inside another one. For example: if you put the following entries in your ESP:

lt (left)
tphp (The patient had pain in the)

(The ESPs need to first be created and exist)

Now you type the abbreviation containing the pause then press spacebar. The sentence expands to the point of pause and then type the abbreviation you want to nest, press the spacebar and hit enter. The complete next appears in your document. Believe me, this is something Autocorrect cannot do and really comes in handy especially when you have really repitious dictators who always give the same order on vital signs, etc.

You can also run a microsoft word macro as part of an expansion if you want. There is a special dialog box that the ESP uses for this.

ESPs also allow suffixes to be added to root words (another feature) but this is something I haven't used much yet.


You can also create more than one list of ESPs (can have 2 open at a time).

This platform also allows you to make "normals" for really long documents. Say you have a 2 page op report that a doctor will use over and over. You can just bring the entire document in. You can edit these normals at any time. These are like templates that you can insert jump codes, all your headings, numbering formats, etc.

On this board, I've been reading a lot about how people run to buy either Instant Text or ShortHand (as these are compatible with Dictatphone) but this is not something you have to run out and purchase. The ESPs offer a lot more than autocorrect.

So far, my one list of ESPs has over 20,000 entries and my line counts daily for 8 hours average between 1500 and 1800. Not bad.

The platform is REALLY easy to work from as another poster said you can pull up previous dictation from another Transcriptionist and copy/paste directly into the document you are typing. This is a really great feature when you have those really lousy dictators who pretty much say the same physical exam, etc. You can then just follow along and edit as you go.

It really is easy to use, and personally I love the Expander and have no complaints. Good luck.






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info inside

http://www.hslda.org/   This is a link to the homeschool legal defense website.  I do not recommend them and I think joining is a waste of money, because they pick and choose who they represent so you aren't guaranteed representation should it be needed, but if you click on the link for In Your State you'll find the laws/guidelines for your state and you can go from there.   They are support groups in every state and you could Google to try to find groups in your area.   There is so much available to homeschoolers as far as curriculum and what fits for one doesn't for another.  If your area is homeschool friendly you will find that there are classes or social activities planned during the day just for homeschoolers.  


www.vegsource.com/homeschool is a good place to start, also www.teachingmom.com.   You can ask questions,explore curriculum links, buy new/used curriculum, etc.  While the homeschooling community in general is overwhelmingly Christian, there is a wide range of secular material available too and on the vegsource forum there is a secular board and I believe both forums have boards for special need families.


If your son needs services such as PT, OT, or ST he can still receive those through the public school system, even if he doesn't attend, because you are a taxpayer.


For the most part the public school system doesn't cause any problems.  They don't want you to homeschool because they don't get the extra tax dollars, but as long as you follow the laws of your state they can't do anything.   Some states are very homeschool friendly and there is absolutely no accountability (TX for one) and other states (PA) have a lot of hoops you must jump through. 


Go to www.rainbowresource.com and order their catalog.  It will totally overwhelm you when it get it and you see the huge volume of curriculum available to homeschoolers.


I've left my e-mail addy if you'd like more info. 


 


 


 


Info inside (sm)
Go up to the top of this page under where it shows how many users are online.  Click on search.  Put Rapid Transcript in the search box.  You will find many entries to read, many about them not paying.  It would be faster than me typing it all in here again, and you might not get many responses because it was just discussed again a week or two ago.  But, try that search up there at the top and you will find lots of info.
See inside for info..

WASHINGTON - The government estimates it takes taxpayers 28 hours and 30 minutes to complete an average tax return with itemized deductions and income reported from interest, dividends and capital gains. That's 42 minutes longer than last year.

Personal note;  If you've been keeping your books updated and have well-ordered receipts, etc., above is probably average.

Info inside
A Google search for "KVM switch" took less than five seconds. Try link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch
keyboard info inside......sm

I do not know if they still exist (the company)


 


NMB Technologies from Chatsworth California


(tho they are made in Thailand)


 


model # RT8256 CW


part # 121390-101A


serial # 72290249


These are the old larger keyboards (ibm) and I get them whenever I can from whomever I can as they are pretty difficult to get I believe....I now have 2 on 2 systems.....these have larger casings around the entire board and the letters NEVER rub off.


 


HTH (hope that helps)


some info inside message....sm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death


(lots more information at the link I provided too)


The Blue Screen of Death


I received the info inside from AAMT


In support of National Medical Transcriptionist Week, AAMT is promoting the certification of medical transcriptionists. AAMT’s purpose in promoting this credential is to protect the public interest by promoting high professional and ethical standards, improving the practice of medical transcription, and recognizing those professionals who demonstrate their competency in medical transcription through the fulfillment of stated requirements.

Sign up for the CMT exam during MT Week and members can take advantage of a $45 discount on top of the already discounted member rate. Non members will be able to take advantage of the discounted member rate. Registrants will receive their eligibility for the CMT exam during the week of the 22nd via email. If you are registering for the CMT Prep Assessment course you will receive a $15 discount, making the cost as low as $85.

CMT Exam
Member Cost: $195.00 after discount $150.00
Non-Member Cost: $275.00 after discount $195
Prices Valid May 14-20, 2006

CMT Prep Assessment
Member Cost: $100.00 after discount $85.00
Non-Member Cost: $125.00 after discount $110.00
Prices Valid May 14-20, 2006


Apply for membership and take advantage of the even LOWER member rates! AAMT wishes you…




100 Sycamore Ave, Modesto, CA 95354
Phone (800) 982-2182 FAX (209) 527-9633
aamt@aamt.org


Expanding on the expanders
I also create Expanders for two words in a sequence that I mess up all the time. For example, I often type onteh instead of on the, so I have an Expander for that. I make a lot of these double mistakes where it is a misspelling plus a missed spacebar. I also misspell some of my expanders sometimes so I have made expanders for my misspelled expanders! For example, I have TOLW and TOWL for tolerated the procedure well.
Expanding if you are not supposed to
can be called on an audit and I have seen people fired for what they call "line padding" by doing such things.
Advice on expanding my skills..

If I  want to specialize in Orthopedic or Cardiology or some other specialty, what is the best way to do this?  I currently only do ER.


Would I  have to enroll in an on-line school or can I just use practice tapes? 


Any advice is appreciated!!


spelling numbers out is expanding for more $$$..nm
x
Yeah, they might be expanding and getting new accounts ! - sm
look on the bright side. Anyway its not best to jump ship from one job until you know you will be happy at another....which is why I always work 2....cover your butt.
Ctrl + Alt + A also stops expanding.
nm
shorthand expanding too slowly
Just wondering if anyone can tell me how to get my ShortHand to expand the text faster?  I know there is a settng under preferences, and I have tried several variations, but still not expanding any faster.  Thanks in advance.
...funny! (expanding my post above, got cut off)
x
My trick for stopping expansions from expanding....SM
This might not work for you but I find it quicker to add it in my shortcuts. I simply add the last letter on it again when I don't want it to expand. For example, BP = blood pressure but BPP = blood pressure. COPD = chronic.... but COPDD = COPD. That's a lot faster for me than to do all those other steps. Just thought I would throw that out there in case it might work for someone else too.
I learned this many years ago: I type in phrases ,even when I'm not expanding but SM
I use Expanders VERY extensively. Doesn't ever have to be a canned report. Everybody says "the patient" and everybody says "within normal limits" for two examples that I'm sure you already are using. No telling how many thousands of abbreviations I have.
Alt + Shift will toggle the esp off for a quick pause in expanding...
Using the example given were pt expands to prothrombin time but you want to keep it as PT, you would type PT and then hit the Alt + Shift key combination, continue typing, no need to hit the key combo after PT because it's a "one-stop" fix.  Hope this helps :-)
Are you referring to expanding text or real macros?
Can't tell you what you are doing wrong if you don't tell us what you are doing.
Punctuation
I would punctuate:
I told him to clean the area with hydrogen peroxide; and, after that he can apply the Neosporin ointment.
No, it is your punctuation. nm
x
Punctuation question
Which is correct, longhaul truck driver, long-haul truck-driver, long haul truck driver?
Quick punctuation help!

 I told him to clean the area with hydrogen peroxide, and, after that, he can apply the Neosporin ointment. 


How would the punctuation be on this sentence?  Did I do it right? 


Thanks in advance for the help..


Quick punctuation help!
Thanks so much for the help!
Quick punctuation help!
Thanks, I have been doing a grammer course.
Quick punctuation help!
Thanks so much!
Quick punctuation help! sm
Sorry, but it does not seem you received much help here. The truth is every typist has her own style. It seems that quite a few want to place a comma every time the doc pauses to take a breath or shifts a page. If that is what your own doc prefers, then go for it. Most do not, however.

Grammatically, you may use commas or not in this sentence, but none are necessary. It has been my own experience that doctors would rather have less rather than more in the case of commas. Believe it or not.
Quick punctuation help!
Thanks so much for the advice!
Is question about punctuation? (sm)
If so, I'd change it to:

MUST HAVE:  Two years' experience.
Transcriptionists that do not know punctuation
I just had a dictation in which the doctor specified (correctly) where the quotation marks were in relation to the period at the end of the sentence and stated that he was tired of having to correct reports where it was incorrectly placed. I was aghast! How could anybody transcribe and not know elementary punctuation?
punctuation problems

HI,


  I am taking my medical transcription course through Allied Schools. I am having a problem trying to punctuate the dictations properly. I would like to know if anyone can help me with this problem. What I thought was proper punctuation seems to be different with medical transcription. Are we supposed to transcribe the punctuation as the doctor dictates or correct it to what we believe is correct?


   Also, I have an assignment that I just transcribed that is impossible for me to punctuate. If anyone can help me, I would truely appreciate it.


Grammar/Punctuation
I would mark it as a grammar/punctuation error, however they both hold the same weight score-wise, so it really doesn't matter if you call it g/p or spelling. If it were a case of having 2 different point values, I would go with the lesser of the 2 - I always try to give the MTs the break.
punctuation issues

I was very careful about punctuation until I had to research things and found that the MTs at my hospital NEVER use commas. I could barely understand some of the long, strung out sentences. I always researched obscure medical terms to make sure my work was accurate, yet I make $10 less an hour than others there because the pools are set up so some MTs get the profitable work before the rest of us. The point of this is, I don't feel that my excellent work is appreciated, and I don't believe the pool situation is fair, so I just do minimum to get by.  I also work IC to supplement my income,  and my IC work is much better because I feel appreciated.


 


Docs and punctuation

Regarding the posts down the list about the docs who dictate run-on sentences or add bunches of periods, etc.  I am wondering why they are not instructed to not include punctuation at all.  Our company has us disregard what they say anyway (since it is usually way off), and it seems they are making it extra rough on themselves.


I have one who says comma practically every other word.  It really threw me off at first, but now I hardly even hear it (so used to ignoring it).  But think how much easier it would be for them to not even think about it.  What works the best is when they just use their voice inflection to signal the end of one thought/subject and the beginning of another.  Being someone without a whole lot of medical background, it gets confusing when they don't.


Why is it no one seems to communicate with the dictators about such things? 


You are not wrong, Punctuation goes
inside the quotation marks.
Need help with punctuation and caps

I have MS Word 2003. This program has always capitalized the first letter after a colon (:) and for some reason today it stopped. I cannot figure this out for the life of me. I have been in Tools, etc, and see nothing that addresses this problem. If anyone has had this problem and knows how to correct it, please enlighten me. LOL


TYIA


 


Misspelled words, punctuation
I would love to be an Editor some day, love reading the typos in the newspapers, etc.   However, I nor anyone else is perfect and we all have our days.  On the other hand it depends on what you are accustomed to.  I have typed radiology periodically and on one account told to use punctuation where needed and another account that I worked clinic in-house radiology was told by the radiologists not to use punctuation unless they told us to because it could change the meaning of the sentence.  So, I obliged and no longer use punctuation unless it is dictated to me.   Unless I hear differently I will continue to do as I am told.
Per BOS2 - there are spaces, no punctuation between T N M (nm)
x
There are misspellings and punctuation errors.
NM
Punctuation "is not important"?!!
Consider these sentences:

The patient said her mother is insane.

The patient, said her mother, is insane.

Two commas that completely reverse the meaning of the sentence. We are not merely "word-slammers". We are expected to convey the meaning of the spoken word, and that is the role of punctuation. Punctuation substitutes for the pauses, etc. that are used in spoken speech to convey how the words are to be interpreted.

I'm no fan of the BOS by any means, but I can't agree with the extreme statements you make here, either.

You don't have to be an "English major" to know the fundamentals of proper punctuation, either. You should have learned that in grade school. And if they ever do scrap the BOS, you can be sure no one is going to scrap the basic rules of English grammar that you're expected to know and apply.
All that punctuation nit-pickiness was brought about by
They needed a reason to do it. (And to sell their anal little BOS). Get everyone so freaked-out about commas and semicolons that they either quit, or their production falls off and they can be 'justifiably' let go, forcing the 'poor MTSO' to have to look offshore for bodies to fill their sweatshops.
All that punctuation nit-pickiness was brought about by
They needed a reason to do it. (And to sell their anal little BOS). Get everyone so freaked-out about commas and semicolons that they either quit, or their production falls off and they can be 'justifiably' let go, forcing the 'poor MTSO' to have to look offshore for bodies to fill their sweatshops.
Verbatim radiology. Should I not punctuate when punctuation is clearly indicated?

Should I leave it up to the doctors to add their punctation for this verbatim account?  Not putting commas around the word "however" is driving me crazy!


...your E-mails have to have proper English and punctuation.
Am I alone?
Are you from India? Your punctuation and grammar are giving you away. nm
x
AAMT has rules on punctuation that are a great help.
Review them??!!??!!?!

Okay, I didn't renew with them this year, but it still doesn't negate the fact that you could use a calming influence. If AAMT causes you stress, remove it from your memory banks rather than fretting about it. It is what it is.


We don't correct grammar or punctuation on this board...nm
x
Well, grammar/punctuation can dramatically alter meaning, so it IS important. nm
x
demographic info is not the only info ...sm
protected by HIPAA, as we all know. I saw that ad too and was surprised to see it. Any identifying info is considered Protected Health Information, including diagnoses, tests, etc. This MTSO should have known better than to ask for that.
Yes, see inside
Go to Google and type in Career Step and Andrews School.  These are the two best.  Most companies will hire grads from these schools right out of training.  Good luck to you! 
on to or onto? See inside

She fell directly on to/onto her buttocks and since that time has been experiencing lower back pain.