Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Brings Special Perspective to Front Royal and Shenandoah County Clinics

Lindsey Ingram, a women’s health nurse practitioner, seeks to help women of all ages better understand and take charge of their health and well-being. She brings a patient-centered approach to the Front Royal and Shenandoah County clinics where she provides compassionate care. Lindsey recently talked about her training, her perspectives, and what brought her to Valley Health after graduate school.

Q: Tell us about your background and experience in healthcare.

A: I went to the University of Pennsylvania for my four-year nursing degree. After that, I worked in inpatient medical surgical units in Illinois for two years. I cared for patients with a wide variety of conditions, including gastrointestinal bleeds, wound care infections, high blood pressure, blood transfusions, substance use…all kinds of different things. Then I went back to grad school at Georgetown University to get my nurse practitioner degree.


Q: How did you become interested in women’s health?

A: I became interested in women's health due to both personal experiences in my own life as a woman and also wanting to empower other women to be informed of their healthcare and in control of their care. I have a graduate degree in nursing and specifically women's health, and I'm board certified as a women's health nurse practitioner (WHNP). I've been trained specifically to provide care across the lifespan of women for needs such as birth control, sexual health, menopause, pregnancy care, and any other women's health needs.

Q: What is it that makes women's health important to you?

A: I think there's a lot of misinformation or scary stuff that people read online and they need practitioners to help guide them with their questions and to be able to sift through the misinformation. I also know that not everybody has the same education about their bodies or what's normal or abnormal. So it's really nice to be able to help patients learn about their bodies as young adults and adults, and how to best care for their body. Starting to take good care of your body at a young age changes the course of your entire life. I believe women deserve to know what is normal and what to expect and be able to ask these questions in a safe and inclusive space.

Q: What are some of your favorite things about your job?

A: I really love the genuine connections that I make with patients and getting to see people multiple times as they come back and we make progress on a condition that we're working on, or answering their questions over time. It’s really nice to have that continuity of care and build the relationships with patients. And then it's also nice to hear the success stories. Whenever I help somebody and they get better and it changes their life…it's nice to follow up on that.

Q: Why did you join Valley Health?

A: I’m from central Illinois, a very rural area. I had driven through Virginia once to go to DC before, but I didn't really know much about Virginia. When I was getting ready to graduate from Georgetown, and applying to different jobs, Valley Health invited me out for an interview. Immediately I thought it’s absolutely beautiful here. I loved all the people I met, and I really liked Valley Health. It was such a good experience. I graduated, packed all my stuff up and moved halfway across the country, having known no one here. I'm very blessed to have the people I work with and the wonderful doctors that I work with here, and I truly have learned so much in just the six months here with Valley Health. I'm super grateful to have the good support system that I have.

Q: What was your training like, and what do you bring to your practice now?

A: My graduate degree took about 2 1/2 years, and the classroom work touched on so many different things, including primary care, and specifics for women's health.
That includes care across the entire pregnancy through postpartum; care of adolescents and young adults; sexual wellness and relationships; adult care and screenings for cancers; all kinds of different medical conditions that can contribute to your periods and your mental health and your lifestyle; care for older adults who may be going through menopause. Then we take the tests with The National Certification Corporation to get licensed as Women's Health Nurse Practitioners.

Nursing backgrounds bring a special perspective to healthcare. We are very focused on person-centered care and treating people as unique, sensitive individuals who have whole other lives outside of what we're doing here in the office. I have always loved how comprehensive and whole-person centered nursing is. I feel like that shows through to patients because I have lots of patients who will say that they really appreciated the sensitivity or the shared decision making and they felt comfortable and seen during their visit. I see that it makes a difference to people.

Q: What would you like your patients to know about you?

A: I feel like one of the best things about me is that I'm a very approachable and down to earth person. I'm proud of that because it makes people feel comfortable.

Lindsey currently sees patients at Valley Health Multispecialty Clinic | Commerce Ave. in Front Royal and Valley Health Shenandoah Memorial Hospital Multispecialty Clinic in Woodstock. Find out more about Lindsey here.