Objective: The purpose of this paper was to quantify both the output and the impact of the relationship between Korean medical schools and their human resource departments and their ability to support the basic data for research goals of Korean medical schools.

Methods: The SCOPUS database was used to identify SCIE (scientific citation index expanded) articles produced by Korean medical schools between 1997 to 2008. The SCIE criteria, impact factors, and citation numbers were classified according to the database of Thomson Scientific Company. The human resources of medical schools were collected, such as the number of professors, graduate students, clinical fellows, residents, interns, and research assistants, through use of the medical deans' association biannual report.

Results: There was a significant difference across Korean medical schools in the number of the SCIE articles and citation numbers, resulting in only a few institutions producing most of the impact. Among the variables, the proportion of professors of basic medical science (p<.01) and the number of research faculties per professor (p<.01), were related significantly to the SCIE per professor. The only factor affecting both SCIE number and SCIE per professor was the number of research faculties per professor. The number of graduate students in the medical school had no impact on productivity.

Conclusion: For the medical schools with restricted resources, the strategic plans for proper management of human resources are needed to promote scientific publication.