Home Forums Discussions Problems two nurses - one computer

We have two nurses using the same workstation. Is there a way to have two 'copies' of AC open at the same time so they can just toggle between the two?

If you are running a server? Then you could log on remote, open AC on the server and minimize that, with AC open locally, you could toggle between the two, BUT you will now be paying an employee an hourly wage plus taxes and benefits to stand and wait for her turn to use the keyboard.

By an extra laptop, it can be your spare in a pinch and your employees will be more productive and happy.

Yeah, really. I have 10 computers/laptops at my office. The most recent one, a top of the line eBay 1 FAST DELL DUAL CORE PD 3.2 GHZ DESKTOP COMPUTER PC XP cost me $305.00. To be fair, I upgraded the thing for $56 (added 1gb memory, a modem, and a DVD/CDRW combo drive).

For that matter, this one is about to expire:
URL- http://cgi.ebay.com/1-FAST-DELL-DUA...ItemQQptZDesktop_PCs?hash=item4ceba29b44

Al

There are a couple of options.

BEST IMHO is the option just to have another windows login account. Each of my computers has about 5 login accounts. Each MA has their own login and when you hit (windows button)+ L it will lock the screen and go to the windows login screen. Then they can go between their own setup screens.

Another option: Computers are cheap. Get a $100 computer and put a KVM switch that will allow you to jump from one to the other and each is logged in with a different screen so it becomes obvious where you are. KVM switches can be under $35 and switch Keyboard, Video and Mouse seamlessly. Most require you hit screen lock twice or another key combo.

Not to plug them, but I like the site pacificgeeks.com. I have no financial interest, but they frequently have $0.00 t0 $5.00 shipping and a lot of computers with XP pro and cost under $125. Shipping computers can get expensive and they are a good alternative. Anything that can easily run XP can run AC. I have one machine that only has 400 MHz and Win 2000 (which requires less resources) and it is surprisingly fast. I keep it for the immunization program I have loaded on it, but it also has AC.

I agree the best option is simply to purchase another computer.

I don't quite understand the login account with locking, etc. That carried a heavy price, because when the other nurse logs in, it will log OFF the other nurse along with the program. When she/he logs back in, she will have to reopen AC, and this will take up a lot of time and then the other nurse will have to do the same thing. So, I don't about the practicality of that. Fast User Switching with XP and the newer versions would work rather easily. That is kind of what it is for.

If you are going to get a computer for the KVM switch, then why not just connect it directly to your network and have another computer station? Sorry, Wendell, not trying to pick on you. I may be missing something.

BUT, if you really wanted to stay with that one computer, and you wanted AC open twice so you could toggle back and forth in say under three seconds, then you would want Virtual Machine. You can use Microsoft's Virtual PC or VMWare, which I like better. It has a free version, but, of course, Workstation is probably the best, but it isn't free.

With VM, you could run one, two, as many as you want (if you have the memory), but of course, you have to purchase OS for each. But, AC would be running in WIN7 on one while your other nurse using XP Pro or whatever.

I was referring to fast user switching, I guess it just didn't come out clear. When I meant logging out it is simply going to the main screen with the other account still running in the background.

With a KVM switch, you would connect another computer to the network. You would simply use one keyboard, monitor and mouse. My understanding was that since 2 nurses used the same computer the goal was to minimize the space. Thus 2 computers and 1 set of peripherals.

VM is another good solution, but you have to purchase another OS. (Then again, you would have to purchase another computer, although the computer may be cheaper than the OS)

I don't think you are picking on me, simply pointing out that my statements weren't clear. That is always helpful.

Thanks Wendell. The fast user switching brings up a crazy story about AC in its infancy. It's actually pretty funny now, but Jon can probably recall my calling him three or four times per week.

This was at the other office with client/server but workgroup not domain. We had just purchased version 1. For some reason that he and I will never figure out, AC would crash about five to six times per day. Now this isn't your "AC crashing on one computer and just clicking on the icon again crashing, this was your AC crashed on every computer simultaneously, and the only way to fix the problem was to go to the server and run Amazing Utilities to fix the database. But, to do this, EVERY Amazing Charts had to be closed. Sounds easy enough. Just go around to every computer and close them. But some were already closed from the crash BUT were still running in the background. So you had to use Task Manager to see if it were running and close it that way. Then two computers had fast user switching. So you had to check one the one that was active, then switch and close the other one which may not appear to be open all before you could run the utility. Can you kind of see the picture? It was like a fire drill each time with MAs and secretaries and billers all running around to the computers they were responsible for.

Even funnier was the fact that my partner would never pick up on the fact that it had crashed and would continue to try to use AC even though it was frozen. And, then he was too impatient to wait for the fiasco to end and would just grab a sheet of paper from the printer and start doing a written note.

Since I knew very little about networking then, I bought a pro version of Microsoft Access and installed it on the computer. Of course, that shouldn't matter, but for some reason there was never a crash after that.

Yes, I had the same problem. Jon told me it only happened to 3-4 people (and two of them are Pediatricians, go figure) I would yell out, "shut down AC, I need to reset." Then would go the the 4 or 5 computers and reset each one.

Thinking back on it I'm surprised I didn't completely corrupt the database with all those database fixes.

My partner became totally frustrated with AC because of that.

I wasn't using fast switching at that time since I think all the computers were Win 2000 (which didn't allow fast switching)

I think that was V 1.36, not sure, but a later version solved the problem.

LOL. He told me it was three or four, too!

OK, who were the other two? Let us know. Of course, it was enough at the time to make you think about giving up on AC, so they probably did.