Work competence of general practitioners working in the community health services of Shanghai: a cross-sectional study based on self-assessment

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate the work competence of general practitioners (GPs) in the community health services (CHSs) of Shanghai, China. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed based on a previous capacity evaluation indicator system. We used a stratified and proportional cluster sampling method in this self-assessment and cross-sectional study. We collected data with the questionnaire on GPs’ demographic variables and work competence including patient care ability, teaching ability, communication skill and coordination ability. Univariate analyses were performed by Mann-Whitney U test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Multivariate analyses were done with generalized liner model with significant univariate factors. RESULTS: A total of 2954 GPs were sampled from 116 CHSs in Shanghai. The response rate was 99.9%. The median scores of patient care ability, teaching ability, communication skill and coordination ability were 80[70–88.75], 76[60–80] and 80[70–85] on a scale of 100, respectively. GPs who were 30–39 years old, or worked in urban CHSs, or took GP trainer’s training or had teaching experience got higher scores in patient care ability. GPs who worked for 5–19 years in CHSs, or worked in CHSs with GP training program or took GP trainer’s training had higher scores in teaching ability. For communication skill and coordination ability, GPs who worked in CHSs with GP standardized training program, or took GP trainer’s training or had teaching experience in CHSs got higher scores. CONCLUSIONS: The work competence of GPs in CHSs of Shanghai could mainly cover daily work, but still needed more improvement in teaching ability. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03227-8.