Why they leave: Small town rural realities of northern physician turnover.

Introduction: This study seeks to explore influential factors leading to physician turnover in designated Rural Northern Physician Group Agreement (RNPGA) communities in Northern Ontario, as well as physician's perceptions of the RNPGA contract and effects of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) on physician retention in these communities.

Methods: Twelve qualitative semi-structured interviews were completed with rural physicians who had RNPGA contracts within the past 5 years but had left their practice community. Data collected from recorded interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach in order to identify common themes.