Dr Tomi Omoya — Palliative Care in Paramedicine
Bridging nursing, research, and paramedic education across continents.
Dr Oluwatomilayo (Tomi) Omoya brings a unique and vital perspective to the ParaPodcast. With a background in nursing — particularly emergency and critical care — and a PhD focused on palliative care education for paramedics, she bridges clinical practice, research, and education. Currently an Associate Lecturer at Flinders University in Australia, her work addresses the critical need for paramedics to be better equipped to handle palliative and end-of-life care scenarios.
Why palliative care education matters
Paramedics frequently encounter patients requiring palliative or end-of-life care, yet traditional training often lacks sufficient focus on this area. Dr Omoya's research — including a qualitative evaluation of a palliative care education programme for paramedics — highlights the benefits of targeted education in improving paramedics' confidence and competence in managing these situations, potentially reducing unnecessary and often distressing emergency department transfers for patients nearing the end of life.
Palliative care education was shown to improve paramedics' confidence and competence.
— Key finding from Dr Omoya's research
Cultural adaptation
Healthcare approaches around sensitive topics like end-of-life care cannot be applied universally without considering cultural context. Dr Omoya's background and research interests include exploring how palliative care education can be effectively implemented in different settings — including African contexts like her home country, Nigeria.
