As the law is currently written, allowing only 1 of the 2 equally accredited and legitimate certifications, has a negative impact on many citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, businesses and individuals.  Specifically, it affects the Surgical Technologist workforce by limiting recruitment opportunities for employers and denying qualified surgical techs the right to practice and achieve gainful employment in their chosen field.  This would also limit the public access to safe surgical care by further exacerbating a healthcare workforce shortage. Surgical technologists certified by NCCT work side by side performing the same job duties as NBSTSA certified surgical technologists. 

Similar legislation was passed in 2015 in Oregon, where NBSTA and the Oregon chapter of the Association of Surgical Technologists promised there would be more graduates in the future and no shortages would occur. A significant shortage occurred, so much that we passed new legislation this last session to rectify and allowing NCCT to be an option alongside NBSTA. NBSTSA and OAST were very challenging to work with to find any solution and fought the updated legislation. I highly recommend addressing this issue now and provide adequate bandwidth by having NCCT alongside NBSTA and CAAHEP for providers.