For Dr. Nathan Nicholson, when it came time to choose a job, Ottumwa was a clear choice. Ottumwa was Nate’s hometown and a great community to grow up in.  Nate and his wife Amy, who is a pharmacist, have two beautiful children and are expecting a third soon.  They want the same opportunities and experiences for their children that they both had growing up in Iowa.  This bodes well for Ottumwa as Dr. Nicholson will be joining Dr. Scott this summer at Ottumwa Orthopedics.

We are proud that Dr. Nicholson was one of the talented recipients of our LCL Health Career Scholarship Program. In fact, Nate received the scholarship four times from 2006-2009.  This program is part of a “grow our own” strategy to invest in students in local communities in the hopes that one day they will return to Southeast Iowa to practice.

Nate also cites the friendship and mentoring of hometown orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Donald Berg, as instrumental in assisting with his career path. Nate spent many hours shadowing Dr. Berg at his practice. Nate always had a personal interest in orthopaedics, due in part to the sports injuries he sustained while participating in baseball, football and wrestling.  In fact, he won a Greco-Roman state wrestling title and previously held a powerlifting world squat record for his age group and weight.  After high school, Nate continued his wrestling career at the University of Iowa, until a back injury forced him to stop.

Dr. Nicholson’s resume is quite impressive. He attended the University of Iowa for his undergraduate studies, medical school and residency training.  Nate earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Physiology in 2008 and earned his medical degree from Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City in 2012, graduating as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Medical Society.  He will complete his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Iowa in June of 2017.

He feels that the skills and knowledge he gained training at a Top 5 orthopaedic residency program will allow him to provide excellent and diverse orthopaedic care here in Southeast Iowa.

When asked what he felt was the hardest part of medical training and to offer some words of wisdom, Dr. Nicholson replied, “I felt that the hardest part was actually getting into medical school. You are competing against several hundreds, if not thousands, of students from across your own college, state and country for one of the few spots at a medical school. My words of wisdom are to work hard, have fun, do your best every day, and continue to learn from every experience.  If interested in something get involved and find mentors that can push and guide you along the way.”

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Nicholson and his family back to the community. Now, if we can just get his brother Kyle, (fellow LCL scholarship recipient and dental student at U of I College of Dentistry) to come back…