Sentara Healthcare Provider Offers Urgent and Primary Care Services
Nurse practitioner Margaret Dawson has been caring for patients since 1998, starting out as a registered nurse before obtaining her master’s degree in 2002.
She has spent most of her career providing urgent care and primary care services to patients, from birth to geriatrics. “In my role, I’m able to see an entire generation of family members,” says Dawson. “From babies to grandparents, I help the entire family meet their health goals.”
“As a young child, I had multiple ear surgeries; I am virtually deaf in one ear,” says Dawson. “But all of those hospital experiences at such an impressionable age made me feel that medicine was my future.”
“I chose primary care because I’m able to develop relationships with patients and see their progress over a long period,” says Dawson. She provides:
- Well visits and vaccinations
- Women’s health exams, including Pap tests
- Management of chronic diseases including diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure
Listening Is the Key to Solving Healthcare Concerns
Dawson’s approach is to work with her patients to help them live a better life. “I prefer to solve problems rather than put a bandage on them.” She does that by listening to her patients and taking time to hear their concerns.
“I want patients to feel that I listened to them and cared about them. I’ve heard many say they increasingly feel rushed in the healthcare environment,” says Dawson. “My promise is this: When people walk out of my clinic, they will feel like they received a thorough exam and that I addressed the issues that brought them in.”
Because of her experience working in urgent care centers, Dawson feels comfortable performing that type of care as well. She can provide stitches, drain an abscess and deliver injections in joints for pain relief. Her schedule always has slots reserved for sick patients, and she has appointments until 6 p.m. to make it easier for people to access care.
Digging Up Old Bones in Her Spare Time
Dawson is married and has two children. When she’s not taking care of patients, her family enjoys the outdoors, including beachcombing, hiking and boating. She coaches her kids’ soccer teams and serves on the board of the Outer Banks Youth Soccer Association.
She and her husband are also passionate about archaeology. They founded the Croatoan Archaeological Society in 2009. Each year the society does a dig on Hatteras Island with a professor of archaeology from the University of Bristol, England. Their goal is to explore—and protect—the island’s rich history.
Background
Margaret Dawson is board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She received her nurse practitioner degree from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee. She is accepting new patients at Sentara Family Medicine Physicians, located at 100 Medical Drive, Elizabeth City, NC.
Learn more about the role nurse practitioners play in patient care.