I am a student at your neighboring states school, Kentucky college of optometry. I have seen first hand how amazing this expansion is for rural areas and easy access to care for those who are not privileged enough to drive hours for these less than 10 minute in office procedures. The visual outcomes from ND Yag can be life-changing to patients. I have rotated through multiple practices in rural Virginia while in school, and there are a considerable number of times patients have to be referred hours away for a simple laser procedure. As a student I can assure you we had multiple courses discussing potential side effects, indications and contraindications for these laser procedures. We are also trained to perform these procedures in our curriculum. Optometrists in more than 10 states are trained and certified to carry out these procedures, and there are no current studies showing negative results.