By Crystale Galindo
Every day, Maj. Betty Moore ’06 BSN, walks in to work and thinks, “I still can’t believe I work here.” Since graduating from the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Moore has completed her Master of Science from Walden University and has had a successful career that’s driven her all the way to the White House.
“My current tour of duty is to provide nursing care to the first and second families and their staffs,” she said. For many, Moore’s work is a dream. She’s had the opportunity to work alongside the Obama and Trump administrations, flown in Air Force One and traversed the globe. “We provide this care in Washington, D.C., all over the country and all over the world,” she said. “Wherever they go, we travel with them.”
Maj. Betty Moore stands proudly at the White House.
A position caring for the families of the nation’s leaders comes with enormous responsibility and is a task for which only the very best in their fields are chosen.
“This is a special duty assignment you get nominated for by your leadership, then go through an interview process, and are ultimately notified if you have been selected,” she said. “There is no way to ‘get the job,’ you just have to be really good at your job and recognized for it.”
Moore’s appointment is the result of years of study and rigorous training, which paved her way through UIW, and then on to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
When Moore chose the University of the Incarnate Word to pursue her degree in nursing, it was because of the program’s high first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). What she found was a nursing program that helped build a solid foundation for her career in the medical field and supported her military track.
“I enlisted in the Texas National Guard when I was a senior in high school,” she said. When that contract was up, she signed on with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) while completing the nursing program at UIW. Moore said the combination of joining the ROTC program and completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UIW helped her tremendously in achieving her goals.
“The hands-on approach in clinicals and classes really have an impact in teaching you to think critically in situations faced in the nursing field,” Moore said. She also credits the nursing faculty for making a huge impact on her while she was in school and the ROTC program, which she says produces great officers and nurses.
Moore said working for the White House has been an honor, and she is thrilled knowing she has gotten to be a part of history. The term of her special duty assignment comes to end this summer.
Moore at work caring for patients.
A leadership course at Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kan., awaits Moore after she wraps up at her current duty station. The course, which is open to only four nurses, is 11 months long and a requirement for promotion to the next rank of lieutenant colonel. This next venture is another demanding endeavor, and she’s excited for the challenge it will bring.
Along the way, Moore’s strong Christian faith has been a major part of why she chose nursing and why she continues to live the Mission of UIW.
“The founding Sisters of Incarnate Word had their passion for the sick and the poor,” she said. “I am incredibly passionate about helping people, whether that is providing bedside care, advocating for patients when they cannot speak, or helping their family members.”
Moore said that as a nurse in the military, she gets to serve our country and serve others. “This has truly been the best of both worlds for me.”
