One of NONA’S legislative priorities in 2017 is House Bill 88/Senate Bill 73, the Modernize Nursing Practice Act. The bill is currently working its way through the General Assembly, and will allow, among other things, full practice authority for APRNs. It is an appropriate time to examine the history of NPs in NC. Histories of CNMs, CRNAs, and CNSs will be published at a later date.
Margaret Baggett Dolan was the fifth of nine children born to John and Allene Keeter Baggett on March 17, 1914, in Lillington, North Carolina. She graduated from Georgetown Hospital School of Nursing in 1935. Dolan began her career in community health working for health departments in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Maryland, and Greensboro. In 1944 she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health Nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill and in 1953 earned a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. In 1950, Dolan became a faculty member in the UNC School of Public Health's Public Health Nursing program. She immediately became involved with the North Carolina State Nurse Association and served as its president from 1957-1959.
