OBJECTIVE: A tracking study of the undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents who participated in the Northwestern Ontario Medical Programme (NOMP) during its first 25 years (1972-1997) was conducted to search for factors related to physician recruitment to Northwestern Ontario.METHODS: Annual editions of the Canadian Medical Directory were used to determine how many participants returned to practice in Northwestern Ontario.RESULTS: A total of 1982 (84.9%) of the 2335 NOMP participants were located using the Canadian Medical Directory. Of those located, 217 (10.9%) had established practice in Northwestern Ontario. Significantly higher recruitment rates (p