the honours bachelor of science in nursing is a four-year program. it is offered jointly with two ottawa-area colleges, and in both official languages. it seeks to prepare the next generation of nurses to offer quality nursing care and to assume leadership within the health care system. its mandate is to prepare generalist nurses: (a) who can work in any place offering nursing care, (b) who have developed effective communication skills, (c) who use their critical thinking and analytical skills at work and (d) who are open to lifelong learning. these programs also lead to graduate studies (msc, msc — phcnp, phd) in nursing sciences at the university of ottawa.