Two brothers from Powell are finding success at the University of Wyoming’s College of Health Sciences thanks to the Wyoming WWAMI Medical Education Program.

“The Wyoming WWAMI program offers three key advantages,” says Todd Guth, Wyoming WWAMI director. “First, our affiliation with the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) — a top-ranked institution renowned for its excellence in academic training, cutting-edge research and primary care education. Second, our small class size in Wyoming WWAMI fosters deep connections with faculty and peers while enabling highly individualized experiences in medical school training. Third, students gain unparalleled clinical exposure by rotating across the Pacific Northwest — including Alaska — in rural and frontier communities, urban academic centers and regional referral hospitals spanning five states.”

The Wyoming WWAMI Program’s roster of students, across cohorts, includes brothers Kaden and Jordan Moore, of Powell, who share family ties as well as similar journeys into medicine.

Jordan Moore

Both brothers’ biographies on UW’s WWAMI webpage include international church missions, young families and their sister, who has Down syndrome, as part of their journey toward studying medicine.

Moore, a former UW Trustees Scholar who earned a bachelor’s degree in physiology and a minor in developmental disabilities, is a first-year WWAMI student. Growing up, he never thought of pursuing anything other than medicine.

When it came time to apply to medical school, he only applied to WWAMI. The program offers the potential to graduate with no debt — depending on scholarships and external factors — if not significantly less than other programs, he says.

“The focus of the Wyoming WWAMI program is to train future physicians from Wyoming, in Wyoming, for Wyoming,” Guth says. “Every student in the Wyoming WWAMI program benefits from tuition support from the state of Wyoming in exchange for a service commitment to return to serve the people and communities of Wyoming as a practicing physician.”

Moore is happy to return to Wyoming and practice medicine. He loved growing up in Powell and would raise his son in Powell or a similar town, he says.

Moore is a member of the entering class of 2025’s Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) track. As part of this track, he will to return to Powell for four weeks this summer and five months next year at Powell Valley Healthcare.

So far, his classes have included hands-on tutorials, such as physical exams and hospital mornings, where the students interview, examine real patients and develop a potential treatment plan.

These hands-on experiences, to his knowledge, set WWAMI apart as far as how early students have these opportunities.

“So, that’s been really helpful. It makes you feel more comfortable thinking about going on rotations,” he says.

Moore hasn’t decided on a specialty, he says, and won’t know what he wants to do until he gets experience in rotations.

While he’s not sure if growing up with his sister was the primary driver for entering medicine, it was a factor.

“I’ve always been drawn to working with people with disabilities because of her and, so, getting to be in a field where you get to work in some capacity with people with disabilities was very appealing,” he says.

If he became a pediatrician or went into general practice, he could become a go-to for families who received prenatal Down syndrome diagnoses, or young children with Down syndrome.

Because of the blessing his sister has been in his life, Moore would like to work to make life better for people with developmental disabilities, he says. In his opinion, there can sometimes be an attitude in the medical profession that Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities are a negative thing.

“I want to kind of be the opposite voice and say, ‘This is so exciting. Let me tell you about my sister,’” Moore says, referencing prenatal diagnoses. “Like, ‘Yes, this is amazing; you’re so lucky to have this. It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be so rewarding.’”

Kaden Moore

While Jordan is in his first year, Kaden Moore is nearing the end of his third year and also is leaving his options open in terms of specialties. Following his church mission in Guatemala City, where he worked with, and developed connections with troubled youth, he thought he may go into behavioral health, he says, pulling him away from the interest he developed while attending his sister’s cardiology appointments as a child. Then, ahead of pursuing an undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho, Moore got married and his father in-law, an ophthalmologist in Cody, provided exposure to ophthalmology.

Moore first became interested in WWAMI because he could return to Wyoming with much of his tuition covered. He also researched the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“They’re an excellent program, and being affiliated with them through an M.D. program also was something I considered,” he says.

A WWAMI track in Billings has allowed him, for the most part, to stay in one area with his family. He also participated in a pediatrics rotation at Billings Clinic as well as research opportunities.

A key experience for him, between his first and second year in WWAMI, was during the Triple I program (independent investigative inquiry). Moore connected with UWSOM faculty; was on-site at a busy trauma center; saw a variety of ophthalmologic conditions; and participated in research.

Having that experience through WWAMI was a great opportunity, he says. Because ophthalmology is something he’s interested in, it would be unfortunate if he was confined to only Wyoming or another state in the WWAMI region without those resources or departments. It opened doors to network with faculty members and explore opportunities, he adds.

As for Jordan, he’s capable and doesn’t need his advice, Kaden says, adding they both have small families and can support each other when things get difficult.