The University of Ottawa is the largest bilingual (English-French) university in the world. Located in the heart of Canada’s capital, we have ready access to the great institutions of our country. We are building the University of Tomorrow. Two decades into the 21st century, having taken stock of our extraordinary growth, we look to the future with confidence, ambition and vision, poised to complete our metamorphosis into an illustrious internationally-engaged university.
Located in Ottawa, their undergraduate degree program is offered independently and through a partnership with Algonquin College. According to the the CASN website, the U. of Ottawa has accredited Collaborative BScN and BN programs with the Collége la Cité. Their degrees are available at the University of Ottawa’s Lees, Woodroffe, and Pembroke campuses.
With its up-to-date teaching, learning and research spaces, the Faculty of Health Sciences gives Canada’s future health leaders the hands on, job-ready skills they need to support Canada’s health system. Committed to developing solutions for one of our greatest national challenges, the University has invested $130M in a new facility to provide tomorrow’s health-care professionals with modern, nimble spaces where they will receive real-world training to provide quality care upon graduation.
Be among the next generation of nurses to offer high-quality care, take on leadership roles within the health care system, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in nursing science. The School of Nursing has just moved into a new building. The classrooms and labs are equipped with the latest technology so that we can base our teaching on real-life situations, stimulate innovation, and conduct research that is key to improving health care and quality of life for people around the world.
Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN)
The program seeks to prepare the next generation of nurses to offer high-quality nursing care and assume leadership roles within the health care system. The school is among the top 100 in the world and ranks 3rd in Ontario. This program is offered in both languages. The School makes a distinctive contribution to nursing through excellence in education, research, and community engagement to promote individual and collective health and wellbeing.
The undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program is offered in both official languages at the University of Ottawa campus and students can choose to study in their preferred language. The BScN program is also offered in English in collaboration at Ottawa-area colleges: Algonquin College (Woodroffe) and Algonquin College (Pembroke).
The Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing can be completed through the following paths:
- Collaborative program with Algonquin College,
- Second entry program is (under revision and is not accepting applications at this time)
- Bridging program for registered practical nurses.
Faculty of Health Sciences Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
A few years ago, the School of Nursing (SoN) established an Indigenous Advisory Committee (2018). This committee worked closely with the University of Ottawa’s Indigenous Resource Center, as well as the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association, and indigenous nurses with expertise in nursing education, to think about current issues in nursing as it pertained to curriculum and indigenous health/knowledge. This initiative led to fruitful discussions and culminated in the development of a multipronged approach to address current shortcomings in the program. Below are the three main axes of action:
- Training: Cultural safety training was identified as a priority for our faculty and staff, and a necessary first step toward creating a common understanding from which to think about nursing education. We were able to support the training of all faculty members and staff at the School of Nursing in 2020, as well as some students in leadership positions at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The goal is to have this type of training incorporated to regular orientations to new staff and part of ongoing development at the School.
Note that funding is also allocated from thegraduate program in Primary Health Care for nurse practitioners to support educational activities that support cultural safety. This money, for example, was used to support a blanket exercise in the fall of 2023 for the School of Nursing in collaboration with members of the Pikwaknagan community. Continuous funding for these initiatives is scheduled to help the training of staff and professors who teach in the program. In the past, we have used San’yas training –https://sanyas.ca/courses/ontario/core-health.
- Curriculum development: We have worked with 2 indigenous nurses to identify resources to incorporate indigenous perspectives and content into our courses. A compendium of resources was produced and shared with professors to incorporate in their courses. Every year, professors for each course meet to discuss integration of concepts as well as other relevant changes in relation to equity, inclusion, anti-racism, etc. We hosted a retreat during which Dawn Tisdale presented on the importance of integrating Indigenous content into nursing programs in an authentic way and provided professors with an overview of the curriculum resource. After the retreat, Dawn was paid to be available to professors wishing to integrate Indigenous content into their courses for questions or consultation.
Beginning in 2022/2023, we incorporated a standing item in all curriculum meetings (yearly meetings held with all professors teaching an NSG course at all sites – one per course; x meetings yearly) to capture learning activities and course content related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (including anti-racism, anti-discrimination of all types, Indigenous content, etc.). Through these meetings, we have created a record of what is being taught/done throughout the program, as well as identify areas for improvement. This venue also acts as a place of sharing where professors from across the collaboration can learn from each other and support one another in these efforts.
- Recruitment and Retention: Access to highly competitive programs, such as nursing, may inadvertently perpetuate the status quo in academia. Thinking about admissions from an equity lens pushed us to develop new ways to ensure a variety of people have access to nursing programs, with the goal of meeting the health needs of those living in various communities. It also forced us to think about our programs and how we support our students through their diverse academic journeys.
Strategic Plan 2024 – 2029
We ensure the visibility of our achievements in Health (one of four priorities)
We are committed to the highest levels of academic and research excellence, to inform and educate the next generation of health leaders, practitioners and professionals who will shape a better future for all. Our proactive communications and marketing initiatives will enable us to showcase our academic achievements, research contributions and community engagement, and will enhance the Faculty’s ability to attract and retain top students, professors and administrative personnel.
Teaching and learning visibility
- Highlighting interprofessional and interdisciplinary health initiatives
- Engaging government, health-care and community partners in student learning, training and mentorship
- Increasing opportunities for professors and administrative personnel to gain knowledge in EDI and Indigenous ways of learning
Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety in Nursing Foundations
Guiding Principles for Indigenous Health Education
- Nursing and Indigenous Peoples Health
- Strengths based approach
- Indigenous Cultural Safety Policy Planning
- Role of Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous People
- Evidence Based Practice
- Case studies
Core Competencies
① Beginner ② Intermediate ③ Advanced
- Indigenous Cultural Safety①
- Cultural Humility①
- Indigenous Ways of Knowing②
- Indigenous Knowledge②
- Eurocentrism/White supremacy in Nursing and Health Care③
- Identifying and addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health care and within the context of nursing ②③
- Equity①②③
- Trauma informed practice②
- Social justice ②
- Addressing ongoing colonization in health care and nursing②③
University of Ottawa
The uOttawa Indigenous Action Plan outlines the implications, responsibilities, timelines, and details of each of the four hoops. It outlines how each hoop’s action items can be realized identifying by whom, over what time frame, with a provisional statement about resource implications accompanied by a statement on what unit will be responsible for implementation.
Action Plan Framework
Policy, procedural, service, and institutional betterment. Hoop 1 includes actions intended to bring about structural changes to the staffing, administrative practice, and governance of the university.
Hoop 2: Faculties, departments, and programs
Indigenous curriculum and research development. This hoop brings systemic intellectual change to the university landscape, in order to attract and retain Indigenous scholars and students while promoting campus-wide Indigenization via research and teaching excellence in multiple fields.
Aesthetic infusion, inclusion, improvement. Hoop 3 binds together a group of actions intended to bring aesthetic and symbolic changes to the space we inhabit together on our campus.
Internal and external engagement. Our final hoop promotes and facilitates the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge keepers and elders, communities, and organizations in the day-to-day experiences of students, faculty, and staff.
The University’s Indigenous Action Plan weaves throughout all sectors of the University—faculties, departments, student services, staff and student organizations, and the senior administration. Working together in this manner, Indigenous knowledge and traditions can be appropriately integrated and infused into the University, as interconnectivity is a cornerstone of an Indigenous worldview. The implementation process will enrich all areas of our university, highlight the diversity and depth of Indigenous knowledge and promote Indigenous methods, theoretical traditions and pedagogies.
Call to Action # 24
We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
Mandatory Course: Yes.
SOC 1106/SOC 1506 Exploring Diversity in Canada
This course critically explores the challenges and tensions associated with diversity in Canada. Some of the topics to be explored include multiculturalism, pluri-nationalism, identity, racism and anti-racism, equity and social justice.
EAS 1101 – Introduction to Indigenous Studies
Introduction to the discipline of Indigenous studies, focusing on the history and contemporary conditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world. Provides a basis for more advanced study.
The course is offered in French and English, with a possibility to offer it at a distance making it a viable option for all students in the program at all sites. We are currently encouraging students to take this course as one of their electives, which drafting and submitting a modification document to replace one elective in the first year of the BScN with this course.
Course description: Course overview is available here.
Every year, the School of Nursing distributes to all members details of what is going on in relation to meeting TRC calls to action, sharing resources, and activities as well as a detailed list of resources. Last year, we had specifically organized a blanket exercise for students, Faculty and staff in conjunction with the move to our new building at 200 Lees Avenue.
School of Nursing Commitment to Call to Action # 24: 2 out of 5 = 40%
| 1. Aboriginal health issues | |
| Yes. See mandatory courses | |
| 2. The history and legacy of residential schools | |
| Yes. See mandatory courses | |
| 3. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | |
| No. No explicit reference. | |
| 4. Treaties and Aboriginal rights | Treaties and Aboriginal rights |
| No. No explicit reference. | |
| 5. Indigenous teachings and practice | |
| No. No explicit reference. | |
Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing’s “Statement” of apology for colonial harms resulting from nursing education
Dec.11, 2023: CASN apologizes to Indigenous Peoples of Canada for Colonial harms resulting from nursing education…CASN is committed to a process of self-reflection, learning, and transformation. We will take the following steps to address the harms:
- Anti-Racism, Cultural Safety, and Humility: Promote education, resources, and practices that address anti-Indigenous racism, supporting decolonization, cultural humility, and cultural safety for nursing faculty, staff, and students. Promote institutional policies and processes that address systemic racism to foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
- Curriculum Revision: Promote a review of nursing education curricula to ensure a strengths-based focus and trauma-informed approach, the inclusion of content on the continued impact of colonialism and racism on Indigenous health, as well as Indigenous perspectives on health and well-being.
- Community Engagement: Establish meaningful partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities to ensure their voices are heard in shaping nursing education policies and practices.
- Recruitment and Retention: Promote strategies that create culturally safe and supportive learning environments including pre-admission supports, in-program supports, and services that are developed in partnership with Indigenous communities.
- Ongoing Accountability: In collaboration with Indigenous partners, establish mechanisms to monitor progress and address concerns raised by partners, Indigenous nursing students, and faculty.
Land Acknowledgement:
The School of Nursing has no Land Acknowledgement.
Located on the University of Ottawa’s Indigenous Home Page (under About Us)
The University of Ottawa’s Indigenous Affirmation was written by the Office of Indigenous Affairs, in partnership with the Indigenous Education Council, Indigenous student groups, and members of the local Indigenous community
All formal meetings at the University, including School Council, start with the Indigenous affirmation. Our School Council Agenda has it formally integrated.
| NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The University of Ottawa Faculty of Health Sciences School of Nursing reviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Research Assistant: Timothy Maton |