Implicit Competency And Its Relationship With Post Competency And Job Burnout Among General Practitioners In Primary Healthcare In Chongqing: Analysis Using Structural Equation Modelling

The National Health Commission emphasises the pivotal role of general practitioners in primary medical care and importance of training their competencies to enhance the quality of primary medical services and alleviate job burnout. Most current research focuses on post competency, whereas implicit competency and the correlations between implicit competency, post competency, and job burnout have not received sufficient attention. This study investigated implicit competency among grassroots general practitioners in Chongqing, China, and explored the relationship between implicit competency, post competency, and job burnout. This study aimed to provide a reference for the competency training of general practitioners. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 473 general practitioners in primary medical and healthcare institutions in Chongqing from January 2024 to February 2024, with participants selected using convenience sampling. Implicit competency, post competency, and job burnout scales were used. A structural equation model was used to analyse the relationships between implicit competency, job competency, and job burnout. The results indicated that only overall implicit competency was barely good (mean score = 4.08). Significant differences were observed in implicit competency scores by age, years of work, education, title, marital status, and workplace (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were found among the dimensions of implicit competency, post competency, and job burnout. Implicit competency and post competency were positively correlated (P < 0.05). Implicit competency had a significant negative effect on the emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation dimensions of job burnout (P < 0.05). Post competency had a significant positive effect on the personal achievement dimension of job burnout (P < 0.05). The implicit competency of grassroots general practitioners in Chongqing is inadequate. Implicit competency and post competency were positively correlated and had a negative impact on job burnout. It is crucial to enhance the implicit and post competence of general practitioners, as well as to reduce job burnout at the levels of general practitioners, medical institutions, and national policies for the construction of a general practitioner team and the implementation of a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system.