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This update to the regulatory text of 42 CFR Part 21 will address specific issues through the notice and comment rulemaking process that have caused misalignment between the standards used to appoint U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers and advancements in their respective professional fields. It will also address inefficiencies and paperwork burdens in the commissioning process that create unnecessary delays. Changes are intended to update the education and training requirements in many of the professions that are appointed in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The last time that the appointment standards were modified was in 1969. Since then, there have been dramatic changes in academic and professional standards, and by extension Commissioned Corps' practices.