The Dr. Jose Ledezma Memorial Bursary Fund

The Dr. Jose Ledezma Memorial Bursary Fund was established in honour of Dr. Ledezma to recognize and continue the work that Jose undertook as a mentor and supporter of nurse practitioners, who he believed are vital to the future of health care in New Brunswick. This bursary, established by his widow Jacqui Whiting Ledezma will assist students to achieve that goal.

Bursaries will be awarded annually to students from Greater Saint John enrolled in the Nurse Practitioner Primary Health Care Program at the University of New Brunswick.

Dr. Ledezma was born and educated in Mexico, obtaining his medical degree in 1971 at the National University of Mexico. He interned at the Edmundston Regional Hospital, having qualified for an International medical exchange program.

He immigrated to Canada in 1986, receiving his Canadian degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University in 1988. His career in Canada began at WorkSafe, N.B. where he specialized in assessing and treating injured workers suffering from disabilities and pain until his retirement at age 72.

A devoted and caring physician, Dr. Ledezma was passionate about Continuing Education and identifying and implementing improved methods and treatments. Dr. Ledezma pursued studies and further degrees specializing in pain practices to improve the lives of his patients, becoming (among other degrees) a Certified Pain Practitioner.

Dr. Ledezma was a member of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management , American College of Occupation and Environmental Medicine, American Board of Independent Medical Examiners, Canadian Pain Society, Atlantic Pain Group, International Association of the Study of Pain and its Special Interest Group on Neuropathic Pain.

As Dr. Ledezma found better ways to treat and manage pain, he helped pioneer the first opioid reduction program in the area, improving the lives of hundreds of families in New Brunswick. This bursary is a continuation of Dr. Ledezma’s forward looking approach to medicine and patient care.