Re: Anybody here fluent in both Dvorak & QWERTY?

Many thanks to everybody who took the time to respond to my question
about bilingual or bi-keyboard fluency so far.  I wondered if I would
get any responses at all and I was knocked out by so many different
group members taking the time and providing so many helpful ideas and
suggestions.  What a great group!

Thank you... I was not aware of the additional software solutions,
loadable such as with a USB key, that can work in some settings where
a hardwired or switchable keyboard cannot be added in and when Windows
or Mac OSes cannot accommodate Dvorak. (I know Windows and Mac usually
can accommodate Dvorak, but I also know from experience using others'
Windows systems with Dvorak that there can be issues, such as needing
an OS installation disk which isn't always at hand or allowed to make
Dvorak available; and OS or software-switched keyboard layouts can 
act glitchy, switching back to a default Qwerty layout every time a
new page opens.) 

I need to make some more contact with the school in the coming days to
really pin it down, but it appears based on conversations with a
couple of faculty there that though this request (for a student to use
Dvorak) hasn't come up before in their memories and experiences in
their program, they are going to be willing (AND, most importantly)
ABLE to accommodate the request. By "able" I mean: their system will
allow it, which was a big concern.

But the MT program director had the same concern I did going into
this, and that was that even if the school can accommodate Dvorak, it
may become a problem down the road for me and it may limit my required
clinical field placement or job opportunities in medical transcription
in a few particular job sites.  We all agree these worries may prove
groundless, but it is a potential issue, and the reasoning for the
concern is much the same as with the individual who posted a thread
recently here wanting to take the GRE and needing to use a keyboard to
type an essay for the test.  The College Board people couldn't be
pinned down on whether that would be possible.  It seemed he would
have to show up at a test location armed with multiple approaches to
use Dvorak and see what could be worked out, but he realized he might
have to resort to hunt-and-pecking in QWERTY in a system that was
locked-down to maintain test security.

The potential problem here is similar.  In medical transcription, many
times transcribers are logging in to systems in hospitals or doctors'
offices with highly confidential patient and employee data on the hard
drives.  These institutions have a legal obligation to secure their
data and in doing so, may have elected as a matter of policy to shut
down at least some of the common consumer solutions to using Dvorak.
Some of those systems may have non-Windows/Mac OSes or  USB ports
disabled, keyboards hardwired in, and so on, to make it harder to
steal confidential data.  If anybody can plug in a USB device such as
a Dvorak keyboard, for example, they may also be able to plug in a USB
key and download data to it.  If the institution perceives that as a
potential problem (and it is), they'll disable USB ports.  Also,
employees may be sharing terminals, and if a terminal cannot be easily
switchable between Dvorak and QWERTY, the hospital or whatever may
just say "no" to a Dvorak job applicant rather than dedicate a
terminal that could otherwise be shared. Even taking a job application
test in such a setting may be a barrier or may set the applicant out
who "needs" accommodation for Dvorak, in the minds of HR, as a pain in
the butt.

But there are alternative ways to do MT, such as at home as an
independent contractor, and no doubt, many medical job settings can
accommodate Dvorak if not everybody can, so it's not a total lockout
by any means.  But I thought that if I could become fluent in both
layouts, it would leave maximum opportunities open.

I'm glad some of you are able to use both layouts fluently.  That
confirms what I've heard.  But what Marcus said about taking it
slowly, sleeping on it after training in one, not trying to force both
keyboards back-to-back is resonating with me.  I'm absolutely rubbing
up against that.  

I think I'm going to have to stay with Dvorak and become a crusader
and fighter for keyboard layout self-determination!

Thanks again.

And by the way, you can call me,
Brad Miller
/sorry about the chip-on-the-shoulder email address (using "spam" in
the moniker, I mean)... it's just the email address I use when I have
to post my email address in a public place, because I don't care if I
get spammed there.