The FOX Rehabilitation PACE Program: Paving the Way for Professional Development

By Emily Dorn, PT, DPT
Regional Director, New Jersey

Starting as a new clinician can be scary, exciting, nerve-wracking, and exhilarating all at once. There’s a lot of overthinking, overplanning, long nights completing documentation and probably some second-guessing yourself. But after a while, you get your feet on the ground and get into a good flow.

It didn’t take me too long to get into my rhythm when I started as a new graduate since I had been a student with FOX. I was meeting my productivity each week, completing documentation, and was always looking for something more to do with my career. That’s where PACE came in.

What is FOX Rehabilitation’s PACE Program?

PACE stands for Professional Academic Clinical Excellence. It’s a program specific to FOX that “provides opportunities for professional growth and awards clinicians who go above and beyond”.

That’s exactly what I wanted, professional growth. And who doesn’t like awards? FOX has created an online portfolio where you can track specific participation items, collect points, and turn them into cash bonuses at the end of the year. It’s quite simple and a feasible, fun way to be rewarded for challenging yourself as a clinician.

PACE consists of 60 items that range from participating in a book club to receiving a national association award or being the author of a peer-reviewed journal article. Items are awarded points based on difficulty, complexity, or the amount of time involved.

How Do Clinicians Earn PACE Points?

I would say there are about 25 items that most clinicians are already doing. Some of those include:

• Mentoring another colleague
• Volunteering (Alzheimer’s walk etc.)
• Writing Success Stories
• Contributing to the Fresh FOX Content blog
• Participating in a journal club
• Having professional or state membership
• Serving as a clinical instructor
• Being a FOX4ALL committee member
• And many more

There is also an option to provide a “proposed activity” if you end up doing something totally different. The PACE program also changes from year to year, where items are added or modified.

How Can Clinicians Participate in the PACE Program?

There is a simple application, and once you apply, you can start inputting your professional development items into the online portal. This will be my second year participating in PACE, and I always like to challenge myself in new ways.

Since joining PACE, I have mentored and sponsored new clinicians, been a clinical instructor, written blog articles (hello!), sat for my GCS exam, presented at meetings, am the regional social liaison for my team, and more. I can’t give ALL the credit to PACE, I have always wanted to take the GCS and be a clinical instructor, but it has definitely helped push me to try new things. And who knows—my future may include being part of a FOX Live Better Longer podcast or teaching a college lab. We’ll see, but there’s always something new to try!

PACE is a great way to get involved with your team, community, and profession, and better serve patients. Each year I try to add one or two new items to my PACE portfolio and grow as a clinician. You may be a lot closer to your goals than you think and gain more than you anticipated —emotionally, professionally, and financially. 🦊

Learn more about all of the professional development opportunities available to FOX Rehabilitation clinicians.