Students who clearly see the benefit of assignments and activities in their future professional roles are more likely to remain engaged in the course. Through the integration of several intentional, scalable innovations, this remodel of an advanced nutrition course strives to align course structure with the necessary professional skills and proficiencies required for nutrition-related roles (i.e., registered dietitians, healthcare providers). When taken individually, the implemented strategies are not novel, but through intentional scaling and scaffolding, the innovations combined to enhance student engagement, accountability, and real-world application within a classroom setting. Pedagogical innovations also informed assessment strategies that were designed to evaluate students’ ability to communicate and act on knowledge gained in the course. More simply, our approach provided several opportunities for students to address real-world issues that might be encountered in clinical settings. Inspired by course evaluations from previous semesters, this study drew from several practices supported by research on student engagement. Randomized attendance incentives were introduced to emphasize the importance of professional responsibility. Additionally, to promote deeper understanding, meaningful student accountability, and classroom engagement, digital reading accountability checks were implemented. Finally, with the goal of developing students’ professional readiness, students are trained to identify problems within nutrition/health and act in their professional roles to solve problems using patient scenarios. Students identify health and nutritional issues from samples spanning demographics, socioeconomic statuses, education levels, and beliefs. This provides a real-world connection while teaching students how to educate, communicate, and care for patients with different levels of health literacy. Preliminary analysis of data gathered suggests that this multi-modal, integrated approach expands students’ connections to course content and provides applicable skills for real-world scenarios in future professions. In summary, when combined into an intentional strategy, these innovations advanced students’ professional readiness.