Special difficulties surround the efforts of the Indian Health Service (IHS) to recruit and retain physicians for its extensive health care delivery systems on Indian reservations, particularly those of the Navajo. A comprehensive questionnaire survey obtained data on the background and attitudes of federal physicians practicing in each of the 8 IHS clinical facilities on the Navajo Reservation; 90 (79%) of the 114 questionnaires distributed were returned. Factor analysis of the data indicated that the decision to practice on the reservation was motivated primarily by altruism and the cultural and recreational attractions of the Southwest; subsequent job-related satisfaction centered around relationships with Indian patients and the local community. These findings have significant practical implications for recruitment and retention, e.g., appealing to altruistic feelings, publicizing the leisure and life style opportunities of the Southwest, and emphasizing the attractions of community medicine in unique cultural settings. Since physician background, job-related satisfaction, and location factors in the study accounted for only 34% of the total variance in physician's plans to stay in IHS, much of the unexplained variance may be due to professionalization patterns and bureaucratic policies within the IHS; and future studies should incorporate these factors in their predictive models. (JH)