Ethel McGee came to Joseon in 1911 as a nursing missionary for the Northern Presbyterian U.S.A. and was assigned to the Jaeryeong Missionary Branch of Hwanghae-do. Since then, she has been appointed as the third nurse after Christine H. Cameron and Mary Mackenzie at Dongsan Christian Hospital because she needed a nurse at the Daegu Missionary Branch.

Not only did she serve as a nurse when she was replaced by Fletcher from Johnson, but she was also an excellent nursing missionary who immediately went to take care of the patient when there is a patient among missionaries in other missionary areas.

On January 11, 1914, a mission report by missionary Bruen wrote, "We intend to keep Miss McGee, and she is popular with Koreans. Recently, she hosted a women's Bible study class with Ms. Pollard in a touring area, and the leader there told me that both are fluent in Korean, and Ms. McGee's pronunciation is especially good."

She also helped women and children in the Daegu Missionary Branch's Sunday school ministry. She tried to keep the missionaries of the Daegu Missionary Branch consistently, but after serving as a nurse for three years, she resigned for marriage.

Ethel McGee's Women's Bible Study Class in Daegu, 1917