Abstract: Objective To understand the status quo and correlation of self-efficacy,internal motivation and core competence of community nurses,explore the role path of self-efficacy and internal motivation on core competence,and analyze the differences of different age groups,so as to provide reference for the development of intervention programs to improve core competence. Methods From December 2021 to March 2022,252 nurses from 15 community health service centers in Urumqi were surveyed by general information questionnaire,community nurse core competence evaluation questionnaire,general self-efficacy scale and internal motivation scale,and the data were analyzed. Results The scores of self-efficacy,internal motivation and core competence among 252 community nurses in Urumqi were （26.92±5.64）,（50.13±6.44） and （131.58±32.60）points,respectively. There were positive correlations between self-efficacy,internal motivation and core competence of community nurses（r>0,all P<0.01）. The internal motivation had a mediating effect between self-efficacy and core competence（β=0.168,P<0.01）,and the mediating effect was 40.19%. At different age levels,the self-efficacy-internal motivation pathway was larger in the lower age group than in the higher age group. Conclusion The internal motivation plays a mediating role in the influence of community nurses' self-efficacy on core competence,the community nurses in low age group have stronger self-efficacy than the high age group,and can exert internal motivation more effectively,so the community managers should take personalized measures to enhance the core competence of community nurses at different age levels.

Key words: Community nurses, Internal motivation, Self-efficacy, Core competence, Multi-group analysis