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DR . WHO ?
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT AMY INGRAM , MD
Aaron Burch
“
, I had wanted to be a doctor since I was three or four years old ,” Dr . Amy Ingram said . “ Specifically , I wanted to be a doctor and a missionary to somewhere in Africa and help people in need .”
At the time , missions around the world were a long way from her childhood home in Shelbyville , where Dr . Ingram grew up with her four sisters ; but applying oneself to help people around the world is always an respectable goal . Now a Louisville otolaryngologist with Advanced ENT and Allergy , Dr . Ingram has made both the medical and the missionary aspects of her childhood dream into a reality .
Week by week , she practices serving Louisville and Shelbyville residents locally . However , she and her husband , Jay , have traveled to numerous countries in recent years to help adults and children with ailments both physical and spiritual . Her husband , a teacher of English as a second language , just returned from a trip to Indonesia where the couple is collaborating with local physicians to establish an ENT training center .
“ Once it ’ s set up , we can go back a few times each year and give training ,” Dr . Ingram said . “ The hospital is already there , and they have an ENT surgeon . However , he doesn ’ t do endoscopy . If we can get him trained in endoscopy and get the equipment there , other doctors from the rest of the islands can go and train .”
Dr . Ingram ’ s ability to help communities worldwide was developed over many years , dating back to her time in grade school at Living Waters Christian Academy , where she studied hard and played a lot of basketball . “ My first ever mission trip was to an Indian reservation in New Mexico ,” she said . “ My first medical mission took place between high school and college , and we went to Kenya . I wasn ’ t a medical professional at the time of course , and I remember how
helpless I felt . I played with the kids in front of the clinic and helped check people in , but I wanted to do more . That trip really reaffirmed that I wanted to be a doctor and go back with something more to offer .”
After high school , Dr . Ingram pursued her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University and worked at the University of Kentucky Hospital as a hospital technician . For her last six months of undergraduate courses , Dr . Ingram studied abroad at a university in Northern England . That six-month visit allowed her to see huge portions of Europe including countries such as Italy , Spain , Germany , Ireland and many more .
“ I studied Scottish Theater , really for the fun of it , during that time . That was a wonderful experience and really good for me to get out of my comfort zone and do something different for six months before heading to medical school .”
After graduating from Georgetown in 2005 Magna Cum Laude , Dr . Ingram packed her bags and came to the University of Louisville School of Medicine . Living with her aunt and uncle , she was still unsure of what specialty to pursue , but surgery piqued her interest . First , she had to catch up on some basics . Medical school was a different level of stressful compared to undergrad .
“ I graduated from Georgetown with a degree in Communications so I think there were a lot of classes that other people had that I had not . But , I could communicate really well !” she laughed . “ Early on , I
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Editor ’ s Note : Welcome to Louisville Medicine ’ s member spotlight section , Dr . Who ? In the interest of simply getting to know each other as a society of colleagues , we ’ ll be highlighting random GLMS physicians on a regular basis . If you would like to recommend any GLMS physician member to the Editorial Board for this section , please e-mail aaron . burch @ glms . org or 736-6338 .
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