Nursing alum makes history at elite Ranger Course

A UNMC College of Nursing alum has made history by becoming the first female nurse to complete the U.S. Army’s elite Ranger course.

Molly Murphy completed Ranger School in July, and her story was featured on CNN. Murphy is one of 143 women to graduate from Ranger School since 2015, when the first two women graduated from the course.

Formerly of Lexington, Nebraska, Murphy graduated from the UNMC College of Nursing-Lincoln Division in spring 2019. Now a captain in the U.S. Army, she is a pediatric intensive care unit nurse at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

“Molly is a wonderful example of the impact that our alums are making around the world,” said UNMC College of Nursing Dean Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP. “Her strength and resilience are inspiring and her commitment to our country is truly commendable.”

“I had the privilege of knowing Molly as a student,” said Amy Frizzell, student services director in the UNMC College of Nursing. “Molly’s leadership skills, determination and positive demeanor set her apart from her peers. I have no doubt she’ll continue to impact the field of nursing and the Army throughout her career.” 

UNMC featured Murphy in a 2018 UNMC Today story after she was invited and completed airborne school at then-Fort Benning in Georgia (now Fort Moore), a parachute training program that qualified her to jump out of airplanes. Murphy, a fourth-generation military recruit, told UNMC Today her childhood dream was to become a kindergarten teacher or a nurse and then said, “The Army doesn’t need kindergarten teachers, so I went with nursing.”

At the time, females were not allowed in combat arms slots, so Murphy focused on nursing and took pre-med courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, nursing classes at UNMC and served in UNL’s ROTC program.

The UNMC College of Nursing-Lincoln Division is designated by the UNL ROTC program as a U.S. Army Nursing Center of Excellence for the quality of its curriculum, students, faculty and staff, as well as its relationship with the UNL Army ROTC. Each year, the college has four slots for those wanting to be Army nurses.

After graduating in 2019, Murphy was commissioned as a second lieutenant and – as all Army doctors and nurses do – went to Brooks Army Medical Center to complete the basic Army officer leadership course.