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Significant Performance Differences Between CRNAs and Anesthesia Registered NursesAbbreviation: CRNA, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.universities do not train CRNAs at a rate commensurate with the attrition by retirement, CRNAs will eventually cease to exist as a part of the medical services workforce.On the other hand, many ARNs are not locked into anesthesia as a professional career. Some may choose to continue until retirement age, whereas others may opt to return to other nursing specialties before final retirement. Many of the ARNs surveyed cited lack of educational opportunities and lack of legal protection as their greatest professional concerns. On average, ARNs are likely to work equally long hours as CRNAs. These factors taken together may contribute to the lower rate of job satisfaction among ARNs.ConclusionThe authors conclude there is support for greater work satisfaction among CRNAs than ARNs and that the in-creased satisfaction may be related to a more autonomous level of practice experienced by the CRNA. Studies in the United States demonstrate that highly educated nurse anesthetists can provide reliable, safe, and cost-effective anesthesia care.14,15 However, no studies could be located that address the relative safety of anesthesia services in South Korea, whether provided by ARNs, CRNAs, or anesthesiologists.The current global trend is toward expanding the role of advanced nursing in collaboration with physicians to meet the demand for needed services. A logical course of action would be to establish a well-planned study to de-termine the safety and effectiveness of CRNA practice in South Korea. Such an approach would help both define the parameters of safe practice and suggest a legal scope of practice for CRNAs. Once CRNAs are established as safe and legal anesthesia providers, a path for ARNs to become CRNAs could be established. Allowing for cul-tural and professional needs and preferences, there may always be a role for the ARN to practice in South Korea. The challenge for KANA is to be proactive in develop-ing national standards for education, certification, and practice so nurse anesthetists can practice as one united- 7. Job SatisfactionAbbreviations: ARN, anesthesia registered nurse; CRNA, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.profession, free of interprofessional conflict and confu-sion of roles.As the current practicing CRNAs age and retire, their numbers will dwindle. This will force medical facilities to train and utilize ARNs to meet the demand for nurse an-esthesia services. Although we expect the CRNA numbers to decrease, ARNs will be needed in greater numbers. Simply put, CRNAs as a profession may virtually disap-pear from the workforce in Korea. The South Korean CRNA workforce is in danger of shrinking drastically over the next decade. As of the writing of this article, the last remaining program educating nurses for an advanced practice in nurse anesthesia has closed its program.