Acupunture is a centuries old tradition which requires extensive training and development of skills through education, training and experience. To successfully assist their patients, an acupuncturist goes throught years of training as well as national certification exams. The concept of so-called "dry needling" that physical therapists are proposing to engage in requires minimum additional training to provide services that are incredibly similar both in action and concept to acupuncture. I believe that using the same tools, namely needles, regardless of  their insertion, is too important to allow physical therapists to do without similar extensive and additional training and licensure requirements. If allowed to proceed as proposed, these regulations would be tantamount to allowing a complimantary profession to engage in acupunture-like treatments without the same education of safety, knowledge and potential effectiveness. For the safety of the public, eliminating a substantial additional lack of training and proposed similar certification to that of acupuncturists poses a risk and could easily confuse patients on what may be most effective. As an acupunturist, I fully welcome physical therapists to practice dry needling and/or acupuncture upon licensure by the NCCAOM. The potential confusion to the public of allowing physical therapists to engage in dry needling techniques with minimal additional training is clear in this ad of the Anne Arundel Medical Center. (Unfortunately it would not allow me to paste it). In this ad the center references dry needling as being "similar to acupuncture." I encourage you to look up the ad, along with the graphic displaying the insertion of what essentially is an acupuncture needle. This ad is emblematic of the potential confusion that this regulation could mislead the general public into thinking that dry needling may have the same efficacy as acupuncture and that those practicing it have similar training and experience to acupuncturists.