Adams taught at Walter Reed Army Medical Center starting in 1969. She became the Director of Nursing at Fort George G. Meade in 1974. The following year she attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College, graduating in 1976. She was the first woman to graduate from the college with a degree in military arts and sciences. After graduation, Adams-Ender started working as a hospital inspector at United States Army Health Services Command post at Fort Sam Houston.
