A Community of Care: Strengthening Healthcare Through Education

Posted on September 19, 2025

When Nick Locke was a teenager, he spent much of his time caring for his grandparents. He watched them face heart attacks, strokes, and surgeries, and in those long hospital stays, he noticed something life-changing: the compassion of the nurses who never left their side.

“I saw the way nurses cared for my grandparents, and it really impacted me,” Nick remembers. “That’s when I started to think maybe I wanted to do something in medicine.”

As Nick considered what his future might look like, he realized nursing would allow him to be directly involved in patient care, the very part of medicine that had inspired him in the first place. That decision led him to Bolivar Technical College (BTC) and opened the door to a career that would bring him back to his hometown and into the heart of Citizens Memorial Healthcare (CMH).

Finding His Start at BTC

In 2011, Nick enrolled in BTC’s Practical Nursing (LPN) program. He was young, just out of high school, and admits he thought the coursework would come easily. Instead, the program tested him more than anything he had done before.

“The LPN program was probably the most grueling year of my life,” he said. “I thought I could coast like I did in high school, but I had to grow up fast if I wanted to make it through. The instructors pushed me, but they also believed in me. They set me up to succeed.”

Nick gained early experience at CMH while advancing through BTC’s programs. The small-town culture at CMH quickly made an impression. “What stood out to me was how leadership knew you by name. It felt like family, and that made me want to keep building my career here.”

Building Experience, One Step at a Time

Nick didn’t stop with his LPN. With BTC’s LPN to RN Bridge program, he was able to keep working at CMH while returning to school. He split his time between classes, clinical rotations, and shifts on the med-surg floor.

Doing clinicals at CMH gave Nick more than just practical experience; it gave him a sense of belonging. “I was already part of the team,” he explained. “That made the transition from student to nurse so much smoother.”

Even now, as a seasoned nurse practitioner, he enjoys seeing BTC students walk through CMH’s halls. “It takes me right back to where I started. I like telling them, ‘I sat where you are now, and you can do this too.’”

Guided by Compassion

Along the way, certain mentors left a lasting mark on Nick. One was BTC instructor Donna Segelberg, who taught him that nursing was more than medications and charts.

“She told me, ‘What if that patient was your family?’ That completely changed the way I thought about nursing. She showed me that compassion is just as important as skill.”

Those lessons became the backbone of Nick’s career. Whether working in the emergency department, serving in leadership roles, or now caring for patients in CMH’s nephrology clinic, he has carried that philosophy forward: treat every patient like family.

The Pathway for Today’s Nurses

Nick’s journey eventually led him to advanced degrees and his current role as a nurse practitioner. The foundation—LPN, RN, CMH experience, and BTC’s support—is what made everything else possible.

And today, that pathway is even clearer for nurses starting where Nick once was. Through CMH tuition assistance and BTC’s bridge programs, nurses can:

Begin as an LPN

Advance with the LPN to RN Bridge

Continue on to the RN to BSN Completion program

All while earning an income and serving their community at CMH. Flexible scheduling, online options, and local clinicals make it possible for nurses to balance work, family, and school without putting their careers on hold.