Ok, so I'm a dunce.
Here's the shortcut word: imp
The expanded form needs to look like this: IMP: (Followed by a space, and the next word is automatically bold).
The word IMP: does not need to be bold, but whatever word I type after it needs to automatically be bold. This is for doctor/surgical reports and they want the impression of a diagnosis to be in bold. As they see about 150 patients a day, having this shortcut would be a major time saver.
I've tried everything in the keyboard/shortcuts/help section and it was all Greek to me - couldn't get anything to work.
If someone could tell me step by step, in simple terms even a child could understand, I would be eternally grateful to your soul. I use Open Office/Writer if that matters.