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Expander advice, please - Irish

Posted: Jun 03, 2010

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to pick someone' s brain please. I am always in awe of the knowldege and generosity of spirit displayed on this board).

Instant Text is my expander.

I need advice please about how to differentiate the following:

1. posterior tibial tendon dysfunction

2. posterior tibial tendon debridement

3. posterior tibial tendon deficiency

I am sure you get the picture. With Instant Text they are all pttd which requires slowing down to choose. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks!

exapnder ideas - INMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi..

Maybe this will help.

1. pttdy (dysfunction)
2. pttdb (debridement)
3. pttdf (deficiency)

Just a thought... Good luck

Thanks-simple but yet great idea - Irish

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks-so simple yet so obvious I never even thought of it. I thought about combing first 2 letters of each word per some recommendations but could not see would not have helped.

Sometimes I cannot see the forest through the trees.

Thanks again!

EXPANDER - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
My favorite expander is Instant Text.

I use x, s and y a lot.
As in:
1. ivsx for intravenous
2. ivsyx for intravenously
3. ivslx for intravenous line.
4. subx for subcutaneous.
5. subyx for subcutaneously.
6. bilx for bilateral.
7. bilyx for bilaterally.

I work on an account that does not allow any abbreviations anywhere in the report, so I use this system:
1. tad4 is four times a day.
2. tad2 is twice a day.
3. tad3 is three times a day.

Also:
1. listx gives me a vertical numbered list of 1-10.
2. listxx gives me a vertical numbered list of 11-20.
3. listxxx for a vertical numbered list of 20-30.

InstanText - 15+ exp

[ In Reply To ..]
I run into the same problem. What I do is number them, most important/most used first, starting with 1. Works for me very well.

Thanks! I am confused, however - Irish

[ In Reply To ..]
I am sure you know more than I do about expanders and IT but I never seem to be able to work with numbers. I wish there was a book someithing like IT for Dummies. I did like your idea and tried it, but again have no luck with numbers.

(Any suggestions welcome.)
Thanks again!

short form ideas - NotNewMT

[ In Reply To ..]
1. pttdys
2. pttdeb
3. pttdef

That would be one way. I prefer Smartype, so I tried to convert my system to the first 3 letters of the first word, plus the first letter of each of the next words in the phrase. In this instance, I would still need to add more for the last word in the phrase because the phrase is so similar.

Like you, I do not like the need to choose 1, 2, 3, etc. (like the old PRD).

Hope this is helpful. The key is to formulate a system in your own brain and stick with it.

My Advice - Carrie

[ In Reply To ..]
I would say to play around with it a little and notice what seems to come natural to you overall when making expansions. I was taught a certain format and later discovered something else worked much better for me later, so I re-made a bunch. It seems, though, that there is no way to completely avoid deviating from whatever pattern you establish. There are just too many things that end up overlapping.

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