Dr. John H. Nicholson has been a friend and physician to all at his practice on Delaware Avenue in Palmerton for 40 years.

While the general practitioner admits that the journey hasn’t been easy, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Originally graduating with a degree in secondary education in social studies from LaSalle University in 1964, Nicholson spent about eight years working with two corporations before he decided to make a career change.

Motivated by his brother, Dr. James Nicholson in Norristown, as well as some business associates, Nicholson took the leap into the world of medicine.

“The one job that I had was calling on pharmacies as a sales representative for Bauer and Black, which was a medical apparatus company. They sold hernia belts, elastic stockings, things like that. A lot of the pharmacists would say, ‘Why don’t you turn that black bag into a different black bag?’ And eventually, I did,” Nicholson said.

In order to prepare for medical school, Nicholson took 40 credits of science courses at Bloomsburg University. He entered Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and graduated in 1977.

Getting ready for medical school is tough enough for just about anyone, but Nicholson had a young family to support as well, with him and his wife, Joan, expecting their first child at the start of his education.

“When I got accepted to medical school, our first child, Amy, arrived two weeks after I started my first year. Our second child, Betsy, arrived the third year, and our third child, Christine arrived during internship,” he said.

“It was a very hectic time, but we managed. My wife was very good help, because she went through the whole thing with me. We didn’t always have one person doing this and one person doing that, each one had to help the other and pick up some loose ends here and there.”

And if three daughters wasn’t enough, Nicholson and his wife would go on to foster and eventually adopt a son, Jay, in the mid-90s, completing their happy little family.

Start of 40 years

In 1977, Nicholson began looking around for a place to set up shop. Originally, he had his eyes on a practice in Slatington, but it fell through. Fortunately, he was able to get some good advice from friends.

“I was talking with Barbara Spade, who was the hospital administrator at the time, and Martin Phillip, who was a lawyer here in town, and Barbara said, ‘Why go to Slatington? Why not just come here? As a result, we took her advice, and Mr. Phillip’s advice, and we wound up here,” he said.

Setting up his own practice meant investing plenty of time and energy. Thankfully, Judy Fredericks — who still works there to this day — joined his team just two weeks after opening, alleviating some of the burden, but for an upstart physician, the work never ceased.

“In the beginning it was a lot of hours. When we first started here, it was over a year before I had a day off, let alone a vacation. I ran the office, I had a hospital practice, I did the school physicals, and I did nursing home care at the same time. It kept us busy,” Nicholson said.

When Nicholson would finally have the opportunity to lock the doors up at night, he would activate a switch to redirect phone calls to his home, ever ready to help his patients with any questions and concerns. A hallmark of a bygone era, for Nicholson, it was an important service to offer his patients.

Linda Wilk joined the staff a few years later, and she has been there for the doctor ever since.

Patients and pals

Over the years, Dr. Nicholson established himself as the go-to doctor in Palmerton. Young patients grew up and started their own families, coming back to their trusted local physician.

“There are some people where I’ve taken care of their parents, them, and their children. When you get into three generations, they become your friends more so than just your patients,” Nicholson said.

And it’s that personal touch that he really appreciates, being able to connect with patients and take a personal and professional interest in their lives and health care.

“I have more input with the patients than I would have with just about any other profession,” Nicholson said. “Most of them become your friends as well as your patients.”

Those special connections are one of the greatest highlights to the life of a physician, Nicholson said. Well, that, and one other thing.

“More or less being your own boss, if you want to consider yourself your own boss. Most times, your patients wind up being your boss,” he said with a chuckle.

The journey continues

These days, the nonstop chaos of the early years is but a distant memory.

“We cut down to where we’re doing two and a half days in the office. We don’t do any hospital work anymore, nor do we do any more school physicals,” Nicholson said.

Fredericks and Wilk handle most of the more common questions for Nicholson these days, as it’s second nature to them. Their tight-knit team has taken to run like clockwork, ensuring the smooth and seamless operation of the office.

“It’s a very enjoyable situation. The girls have been with me for about 71 years between them. Judy’s been here 40 years, and Linda’s been here 31,” Nicholson said.

That new free time allows the doctor to make a different kind of house call — visits to his children and grandchildren, which he finds to be exhilarating after a four decades of medicine.

As for the future, Nicholson is not sure what’s to come. He would like to continue his practice for now, though the road ahead is anything but certain.

“I don’t know if I’ll reach another 40,” he said with a laugh.

Nonetheless, reaching such a milestone has filled Nicholson with pride. With all the help from his family — both at home and at work — the doctor has already established a remarkable career path that has touched the lives of countless patients and friends.

“It was a pleasure to hit that mark, and it’s been a very interesting 40 years,” he said.