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For the purpose of this study, the authors refer to these nurses as anesthesia registered nurses (ARNs). In a review of the literature, only one article was located that studied the roles between these 2 groups of nurse anesthetists.1 To our knowledge, the dif-ferentiation of clinical practice between CRNAs and ARNs in South Korea has not been addressed in the literature.The primary purpose of this project is to describe these 2 populations of nurse anesthesia providers who practice in South Korea and to identify areas in which their activities differ on the basis of education, training,and scope of practice. A secondary purpose is to discover if the difference in preparation between CRNAs and ARNs is related to differences in job satisfaction between these groups of anesthesia providers. This article reviews the history of Korean CRNAs and explores the develop-ment of the dual pathway to nurse anesthesia practice in South Korea. One aim of the study is to identify issues common to both types of anesthesia providers and locate areas where practice may overlap or where the scope of practice becomes confused. The article concludes with a report of findings and an analysis of practice differences with suggestions for future research.BackgroundNurse anesthetists have practiced in South Korea for the past 55 years. Following the Korean Conflict (1950-1953), the South Korean Ministry of Defense recognized the need to supplement anesthesia care with qualified nurse anesthesia providers. In 1961, the first 5 Korean Army nurses trained as anesthesia providers in a military medical facility.2-5The first civilian nurse anesthetist to practice in Korea was an American missionary, Sr Margaret Kollmer. Sr Kollmer trained as a nurse before becoming a nun with the Maryknoll Sisters. Her order asked her to train as a nurse anesthetist to meet postwar needs in Asia.6 Inwww.aana.com/aanajournalonline AANA Journal n October 2017 n Vol. 85, No. 5 3611964, her order sent her to the newly opened Maryknoll Hospital in Busan (also called Pusan), South Korea.2-4 The following year, working with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other missionaries, Sr Kollmer helped to start the first civilian nurse anesthesia training program in the country. Today she is regarded as the mother of nurse anesthesia in South Korea.Initially nurses were trained to provide anesthesia ser-vices but were not certified by a national body. In 1969, Sr Kollmer implemented the first program to train and certify registered nurses as anesthesia providers.