ATSU-KCOM student named ACOFP’s Outstanding Osteopathic Student of the Year
Posted: May 2, 2025
A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) student Haley Schuster, OMS III, received the Marie Wiseman Outstanding Osteopathic Student of the Year Award during the recent American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) conference in Palm Springs, California.
The award winner is selected in partnership between ACOFP and the Auxiliary to the ACOFP and recognizes an osteopathic medical student who demonstrates strong philanthropic and community service.
Schuster certainly fits the criteria. She has been active in extracurricular activities since beginning at ATSU-KCOM, having just completed her term as secretary of the Student Association of ACOFP (SAACOFP) National Student Executive Board, and previously serving as ACOFP chapter vice president, student delegate for Missouri to the ACOFP Congress of Delegates, and SAACOFP Education Committee member.
She is also currently a student member of the board of directors with the Wisconsin Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons.
“I was really surprised when I won the award,” Schuster said. “I was not expecting it at all.”
Having been heavily involved with ACOFP since her early days as a student, Schuster said the organization offers many opportunities and benefits to DO students. From mentorship to osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) workshops at conferences, there are ample chances for support and involvement. Plus, she said, nearly everything is at no cost to students.
“It really shows how dedicated they are to students and how much they want students to do well,” she said. “They make it so easy for students to get involved.”
Schuster, from Portage, Wisconsin, sought a career in health sciences from an early age, though her interest in chemistry initially led her to look into pharmacology. After doing some shadowing she believed the field lacked in working directly with patients, something she wanted to do, and she shifted her sights to medicine.
“I think medicine gives you a unique opportunity,” she said. “Like in any field, you could say you’re helping people, but helping people live well and feel well, I think, is really important. As a physician, you get to be a leader of the team but also have a really great influence on your patients, and can have some positive impacts.”
With a growing interest in holistic care she was encouraged to shadow a doctor of osteopathic medicine. Within a few days Schuster knew it was the right path for her.
“The first day she had this patient, I think with lower back pain and maybe some urinary tract infection-type symptoms. She did a few OMT techniques and the patient got up and was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I feel so much better.’
“I was like, this is not something you can see in other offices, where someone leaves feeling better by something you did with your hands. I need to learn what this is.”
Schuster chose ATSU-KCOM, and while in Kirksville was part of Still Caring Health Connection, a student organization that provides free health screenings and education throughout the community. It provided another opportunity for Schuster to use her OMT skills, something she feels passionate about keeping in her toolkit.
“Even if you don’t use it in your practice, it gives you such comfort with touching your patients and learning how things are so interconnected,” she said. “It sets us up really well for success in the future. I’ve really tried to utilize my time when I’ve had access to physicians who do OMT frequently to find opportunities to practice those skills.”
She also thoroughly enjoyed her time in Kirksville, calling it a great place for students to dive into their studies while also being surrounded by a supportive environment. She and her classmates forged strong bonds, getting together for weekly dinners, movie nights, and more.
Schuster is now on clinical rotations and is currently doing radiology in Peoria, Illinois. The rotations have offered new insights, as she’s shifted her focus from family medicine to internal medicine.
And though she said she’ll miss being so heavily involved in ACOFP, she’s looking now to join an osteopathic internal medicine student organization.
“I think it’s important for students to get involved and apply for those opportunities,” Schuster said. “With a lot of these organizations, there’s always some way for students to get involved. You just have to figure out how to do it.”
