title: Milestones on the social accountability journey:   Family medicine practice locations of  Northern Ontario School of Medicine graduates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of different levels of exposure to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine's (NOSM's) distributed medical education programs in northern Ontario on FPs' practice locations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional design using longitudinal survey and administrative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 131 Canadian medical graduates who completed FP training in 2011 to 2013 and who completed their undergraduate (UG) medical degree or postgraduate (PG) residency training or both at NOSM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exposure to NOSM's medical education program at the UG (n = 49) or PG (n = 31) level or both (n = 51).
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary practice location in September of 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 16% (21 of 129) of FPs were practising in rural northern Ontario, 45% (58 of 129) in urban northern Ontario, and 5% (7 of 129) in rural southern Ontario. Logistic regression found that more rural Canadian background years predicted rural practice in northern Ontario or Ontario, with odds ratios of 1.16 and 1.12, respectively. Northern Canadian background, sex, marital status, and having children did not predict practice location. Completing both UG and PG training at NOSM predicted practising in rural and northern Ontario locations with odds ratios of 4.06 to 48.62.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Approximately 61% (79 of 129) of Canadian medical graduate FPs who complete at least some of their training at NOSM practise in northern Ontario. Slightly more than a quarter (21 of 79) of these FPs practise in rural northern Ontario. The FPs with more years of rural background or those with greater exposure to NOSM's medical education programs had higher odds of practising in rural northern Ontario. This study shows that NOSM is on the road to reaching one of its social accountability milestones.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hogenbirk
authors.forename: Patrick E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Timony
authors.forename: Margaret G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strasser
authors.forename: Raymond W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Pong
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cervin
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Graves
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004501:Education, Medical; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009864:Ontario; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012941:Social Responsibility; D000078329:Workforce