The Development of Emergency Medicine in South Korea: Academic Productivity in Highly Cited Journals

Abstract

Introduction The purpose of this study was to examine the number of publications by South Korean emergency physicians in highly cited journals and the increase in their numbers. It also sought to assess the impact factors of such publications. Methods The present study was a retrospective quantitative literature review of the publications by South Korean emergency physicians from 1996 to 2011 in the category of “emergency medicine” in the science edition of Journal Citation Reports 2011. We analysed the total number of articles published by South Korean emergency physicians and their impact factors. Results Between 1996 and 2011, the number of South Korean board-certified emergency physicians increased from 51 to 958, and 230 articles were published in 14 highly cited journals. The total impact factor (IF) of the original articles published during that period was 227.86, and the mean IF was 1.93. More than 10 articles had been published annually in the past 5 years in highly cited journals and there were over 400 South Korean board-certified emergency physicians. Conclusions Emergency medicine in South Korea started about 20 years ago, but academic productivity, indicated by at least ten articles annually in highly cited journals, was only achieved in the last five years. The mean IF of these articles was similar to that in other highly productive countries. (Hong Kong j.emerg.med. 2014;21:205-212)

Asian Society for Emergency Medicine: Message from the President

“…Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine 29 (4) within a short period of time. However, if we all possess this dream and act together, we will definitely be able to conquer all the hurdles and reach our destiny in the future.…”

“…However, the pace of development is different due to the diversity of socio-economic, cultural and medical systems in different Asian countries. [1][2][3][4] There is a real need to establish a platform, not only to share our knowledge in EM but more importantly to accumulate the power to support our partners in Asia to develop EM. This has to be done according to the individual needs in terms of medical education, postgraduate and specialist training as well as the pre-hospital emergency medical services system in our member countries and regions.…”

“…Emergency medicine (EM) is a rapidly growing specialty in Asia. However, the pace of development is different due to the diversity of socio‐economic, cultural and medical systems in different Asian countries 1–4 . There is a real need to establish a platform, not only to share our knowledge in EM but more importantly to accumulate the power to support our partners in Asia to develop EM.…”