Nursing’s ‘Blockbuster’ Moment? Q&A with Dr. Dan Weberg

If you’re a nurse on LinkedIn, you’ve seen posts from Dr. Dan Weberg, PhD, MHI, RN, FAAN.

Weberg has shared ideas about nursing innovation, where we go awry in the profession, and how to rebuild nursing from the ground up. 

But Weberg didn’t always want to be a nurse—so how did he end up as one of the top thought leaders in nursing? Read on to find out.

Q: How Did You Land On Nursing In The First Place?

A: I initially went to Arizona State as a business major, but sitting through economics class, I thought, “This is not for me.” 

That spring break, instead of going to Mexico or on vacation, I sat in my dorm room and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I honed in what classes I liked in high school, so I decided on pre-med, but I didn’t love the culture.

I then focused on nursing and really enjoyed it, and I thrived in nursing school.

Right before I got into nursing school, I volunteered with migrant farm workers in an emergency department and a PACU, which really resonated with me. I ended up graduating and starting in the ER as a new grad and just took all the opportunities that nursing provided to me and said “yes” to them.

Q: Were You Fortunate To Get A New Grad ER Job?

A: I was building the career I wanted and not settling for what my faculty told me to do. I was one of the lucky few to be able to do my last rotation in the emergency department and just loved it. 

I tried to pick up extra shifts, I was trying to meet with my preceptor all the time, and I loved every second of being there.

About six months before I graduated, I looked around at new grad programs that allowed me to apply for an ER position. I applied to several departments at UCLA and got a job offer from their neuro ICU, which I accepted. A couple of weeks later, their ER called and offered me a job, not knowing that neuro ICU already offered me a job. I called the neuro ICU back and said, “Sorry.” I took the ER job. 

If I had to go into a med-surg position or even the neuro ICU position, I probably wouldn't have done the same things. I don't know if I'd even stay in nursing, just knowing what I know now. Nurses can really be in the driver’s seat of designing their careers. 

Q: What Was Your First Pivot Away From Bedside Nursing?

A: My foray away from bedside began in nursing school. 

My senior project in nursing school was to take a SimMan out of the box, program him, and run a scenario on the mannequin. My faculty did not know how to do that at the time. When I graduated, they asked me to come back and teach my own faculty (who just graduated me) how to run the simulator. 

That led to connection points and allowed me to start consulting. The more I did something new, the more I would write about it and publish something about it on social media. Now, my niche is about how to lead change in systems, and how to disrupt legacy organizations—like our big healthcare systems—to adapt to the future of where healthcare is going. 

The crux is to find something you love to do and just say “yes” to it and go try it out. 

Q: What Do You Mean When You Say Nursing Is Having A “Blockbuster” Moment?

A: My latest talk is about nursing’s “Blockbuster” moment.

We can do what Blockbuster did and double down on what worked in the past…or we can take the opportunity now to build the future.

We are the largest healthcare employee workforce group.

There are 4.3 million registered nurses in the United States. If we wanted to do something and were coordinated, we could do anything. We could change legislation, we could change policy, we could change entire systems.

But nursing is really fragmented, and we have a lot of factions and leaders. Those different bodies have different priorities, and it does confuse our legislators, as well as the public.

We’re quick to say that no one could get rid of nursing. Well, that’s what the Titanic said. That’s what Blockbuster said. 

There's a small window of time right now that the healthcare system is in crisis and it has to be different—and we lead that.

Q: How Do You Approach Nursing Innovation?

A: The first thing people must understand is that innovation is a science and it has a process. 

A lot of people think innovation is just brainstorming and then having an “aha” moment, but that is just one small part of the process. 

We have to look at what we know about the problem, what has already been tried, who the users experiencing the problem are, and really understand the environment. You try those ideas and test them out, and then you keep iterating. 

Q: What Is One Industry Trend That Makes You Go, “Whoa”?

A: I think about the entrepreneurship revolution in nursing.

Nurses are building their own companies, their own solutions, and engaging with venture capitalists and technology companies. As an investor with the Nurse Capital Fund, I love seeing all of these amazing nurses who have created solutions that are mind-blowing and being able to deploy resources to that. 

Final Thoughts

Weberg said if he had to pick a motto for innovation, it would be that you don’t have to be an innovator to lead innovation and change. “You can make a connection. You can lift up nurse innovators on social media. You can shout their name from the rooftops.” 

Looking for more from Dan Weberg? Check out his two books: Leadership in Nursing Practice: The Intersection of Innovation and Teamwork in Healthcare Systems and Leadership for Evidence-Based Innovation in Nursing and Health Professions. Head over to his website for 20% off.