Professional Advancement & Community Engagement: Shifting to Justice-Centered Experiential Learning in PT Education

ABSTRACT: The Professional Advancement & Community Engagement (PACE) curriculum equips Doctor of Physical Therapy students' professional identity, civic responsibility, and community engagement through a longitudinal 5-course sequence emphasizing preparation, reflection, and sustained service, supported by faculty coaching. Integrating didactic learning with community-based experiences, PACE cultivates core values and skills-empathy, cultural humility, communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethical awareness-that directly enhance readiness for clinical education. Guided by a critical service-learning framework (Dholakia & Hartman, 2023), PACE advances beyond traditional volunteerism toward justice-oriented experiential learning, centering power redistribution, authentic partnerships, and a social-change orientation. Across 5 trimesters, students examine inequities, partner with diverse communities, and align professional goals with community-defined priorities, fostering ethical, community-responsive practice and advocacy for equitable health.