Health Sciences
The Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences is an innovative interdisciplinary program that explores the fundamentals of health science as they apply to individuals and populations. The unique curriculum helps you understand the causes of disease, be they linked to biological, psychosocial or environmental factors.
You also acquire expertise in communicating health information, and in designing and evaluating health programs. The knowledge and skills you gain offer a solid foundation for pursuing medical studies or, of course, studies in other health professions, including audiology, occupational therapy, nursing, physiotherapy and speech-language pathology; you can also move on to graduate studies in epidemiology and health promotion, for instance.
If you choose to work immediately upon completing your undergraduate degree, you can enter any number of health-science fields, including those dealing with public health and even life sciences. Indeed, if your goal is a career in health, this program provides you with almost endless employment opportunities.
The focus of the Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences
The Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences is by nature a discipline-specific program, but one that proposes multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary courses. The key focus is to help you understand the links among health determinants, the biological bases of diseases, the measurement of individual health and population health, and the psychosocial integration of individuals with health problems. You are also trained in the fundamentals of health research and of health program and policy development.
In the process, you acquire the pre-requisites for admission not only to professional health programs such as medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech-language pathology, dentistry, optometry, but also to graduate studies (Master of Science, Master of Health Sciences, Master of Public Health, etc.). Upon graduation, you can work in any number of areas, including research assistance, program coordination or data entry in public health agencies.
Options in the Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences
During your fours years as a full-time student in the honours bachelor program, you can also pursue a minor in other disciplines at the University of Ottawa. The minor allows you to add new dimensions to your health-care training.
Program goal and objectives
The overall goal of this program is to provide you with the comprehensive knowledge needed for further study or employment in health-related fields.
Graduates of the Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences are recognized for their ability to reason critically and to understand the complexity of human health. Their training also provides a theoretical, scientific and ethical background that develops their capacity to link the many facets of health. Specifically, then, the program's objectives are to help you, the student,
a) understand the multiple dimensions of health and the factors that affect them
b) appreciate the moral, ethical and legal aspects of health care in general and of decision-making in health-care delivery
c) acquire the knowledge needed to organize, manage and assess health services and to promote health and well-being
d) master basic research skills such as formulating research questions, collecting information, analyzing data and drawing conclusions and inferences
e) critically evaluate health research and search systematically for evidence-based information
f) understand the general and specific health needs of communities
g) understand the roles and duties of different health-care professionals in delivering care.