The Honours Baccalaureate in Health Sciences program provides the basics for a number of health careers. The health professions offer secure and meaningful employment, opportunities for advancement, jobs in a range of different settings and a chance to serve people. Formal educational requirement for scores of health careers vary greatly depending on the field and the level of expertise needed. The BHSc program will provide you with the required knowledge and skills for professional education in medicine and associated specializations, allied health care professional programs, graduate programs in health research and degree-diploma options in health care service and technology. If you are considering a health career this is a program for you, where the avenues and employment opportunities are endless and future is bright.

The focus of the BHSc program

This is a four year honours program with an option to concurrently do a minor in another area of your interest. The baccalaureate honours program in the health sciences by nature is a disciplinary program and has courses that are multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary. The key focus areas in the program are determinants of health, biological basis of diseases, technology in health care, health program and policy development and health research which are approached in an interdisciplinary fashion. On successful completion of the BHSc program the students would acquire knowledge and skills in each of the focus areas that is commensurate with the national standards.

The program provides the students with pre-requisites and prepares them for admission to professional medical programs (Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, etc.), allied health programs (Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, etc.), graduate education (Master of Science, Master of Health Science, Master of Public Health, etc.) and degree-diploma options (Radiation Oncology, Respiratory Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, etc.). If a student would be interested in looking for employment following this degree the options would include (Research assistance, Program coordination, Data handling, etc.).

Options in the BHSc program

The full time students in the BHSc program can opt for a minor in any of the programs offered on campus at the University of Ottawa. Studies leading to a minor would be conducted during the four-year period of study in the BHSc program. With the minor the students in the BHSc program would be able to add new dimensions to their health focus.

A minor in Health Sciences is also available to students enrolled in any other program on campus at the University of Ottawa. The minor provides an opportunity to understand the basics of health sciences and apply the knowledge and skills from other disciplines in understanding health and solving specific health problems.

Program objectives

The graduates of the BHSc program would be recognized for their ability to reason critically and see human health holistically, for their theoretical, scientific and ethical background and ability to appreciate the different dimensions of health. The overall objective of this program is to provide knowledge and skills needed for professional, graduate and technical education and health employment opportunities. Some of the key objectives of the program are:
a) to understand the different dimensions of health and the factors that affect these dimensions
b) to appreciate the moral, ethical and legal aspects of health care and decision making in health care delivery
c) to acquire knowledge needed to organize, manage and assess health services and promote health and well-being
d) to acquire research skills so as to formulate research questions, collect information, analyze data and draw conclusions and inferences
e) to critically evaluate health research and systematically seek information that is evidence based
f) to understand the general health needs of the general community as well as specific needs of specific communities
g) to acquire an understanding of the roles and duties performed by the different health care professionals in delivering health care