The inherent inequity of allowing a foreign-educated practitioner to gain licensure by passing the NCCAAOM exam yet deny a U.S. educated practitioner who also passes the NCCAOM exam just because s/he graduated from a school in candidacy status versus full accreditaiton status should end now.  I am certain that it was not the intent of the regulators to have this inequity manifest in this fashion as a result of the previous rulemaking.  To impose a greater level of scrutiny for those who study in the U.S. versus abroad tips the scales of fairness away from U.S. taught practitioners of in favor of those foreign-trained.  The benefits to the State of Virginia are multi-fold, which include without limitation, 1) having more students matriculate into candidacy status programs (note that all 3 schools of oriental medicine in Virginia are in candidacy status) without fear that they will not go on to become fully accredited even though approximately 90% of schools in candidacy status eventually gain full accreditaiton; 2) more students who graduate in a school certified to operate by SCHEV are likely to become practitioners in the Commonwealth which leads to more acupuncture services for a growing population looking for same; 3) keep acupuncture practices in the Commonwealth and avoid graduates from moving to Maryland or other neighboring states; and 4) provide a greater pool of qualified practitioners to select from for larger medical institutions such as hospitals, insurance companies and state-run medical facilities as they increasingly move toward the practice of integrative medicine.