Doctor of Nursing Practice Alumna Uses Degree to Become President and CEO of Avera St. Benedict
Weber came into leadership from a career in nursing, earning her BSN in 2007 from USD and working as an RN, first at Mayo Clinic and later in Parkston. After settling in Parkston, Weber continued to grow as a nurse. She became a Certified Nurse Practitioner, providing family medicine in the Emergency Department and overseeing the care of inpatients as a hospitalist.
Three years ago, she started looking for ways to hone her leadership skills. "Health care is changing fast," said Weber. "I knew that getting more education in this area would put me in a better position to understand the complexity of health care management."
She chose the USD School of Health Sciences Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program for its flexibility, as she also has a young family, and for the chance to apply all that she learned in her years of nursing.
"USD’s DNP program was attractive and intriguing to me," said Weber. "Especially in a high-level leadership position, we need to understand not only health care, but also the business end of health care.”
When Weber was named president and CEO of Avera St. Benedict in September 2022, she could immediately see how the interdisciplinary collaboration she was experiencing in the DNP program at USD would help her in her new role.
"Being in this role and in the DNP program at the same time meant I was learning things that are applicable to everything I'm doing every day at work," said Weber. "This program has really helped me to see the bigger picture better.
“There are many new and exciting things happening in health care, and I look forward to working with the larger Avera Health system to bring those innovations to Parkston,” she continued. “As the world changes, we must continue to change to meet the needs of our patients and residents.”
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