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    colemak vs. dvorak for the medical transcriptionist

    • Started by xgenra
    • 2 Replies:
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 20-May-2010
    • Posts: 1

    Hi all,
    my 1st time here.
    to start, im a hunt and peck qwerty. im halfway done with a home study course on medical transcription (i got a b average!).
    so i gotta ask...am i better off keeping up with my study of dvorak? or should i look into colemak?
    i cant find a damn thing on this forum for the transcriptionist.

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    • From: Belgium
    • Registered: 26-Feb-2008
    • Posts: 482
    xgenra said:

    i cant find a damn thing on this forum for the transcriptionist.

    Colemak isn't optimized for medical transcription specifically.  Neither is Dvorak.  So the pro's and cons of each will generally apply to your case as well...

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,362

    In other words, if you're new to both then the main consideration would (in my opinion!) be:
    - Would you ever be forced to use QWERTY keyboards (Colemak makes for easier transitions)
    - Would you be using common keyboard shortcuts (Colemak preserves more of them)
    - Would you be using other people's computers to type your layout on (Dvorak is usually pre-installed; Colemak isn't on Windows nor Mac systems - however, if you can use an USB flash drive in the computer there's portable solutions that are very nice I think)
    - Do you prefer hand alternation (Dvorak's forte) or smooth rolling movements (Colemak's forte)

    etc.

    Asking the Colemak forum is of course looking for a biased answer. My own answer is bound to be: Hell yeah, use Colemak! I changed from Dvorak to Colemak myself and haven't regretted it a bit. But each to their own.

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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