Of the eight nurse practitioners employed by Pediatric Specialists Judith Shea-Vaillancourt has been with the practice the longest, starting in June of 1985. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Judi attended Fitchburg State College where she was one of the founding students of the Nursing Honor Society. She held the office of the first recording secretary of the Honor Society, which later was accepted as a chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. Upon graduating magna cum laude in June 1978 Judi interned in the medical intensive care unit at St. Vincent's Hospital. Later she joined the cardio-thoracic trauma intensive care staff at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. She continued her education in Primary Health Care as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the University of Lowell Massachusetts in 1985 where she was again recognized for honors studies and maintains dual membership in Sigma Theta Tau. Since 1985 she has been a valued member of the provider team at Pediatric Specialists and has added many of her skills to the practice.

Along with general interest in optimal primary health care, Judi has special interests in lactation support, asthma management, adolescent health, and contemporary health care.Judi has extensive training and expertise in the area of asthma management. She is currently coordinating the practice's participation in the Equis asthma project to ensure state of the art asthma care for our patients. Judi has lectured and taught asthma management in numerous venues. Away from the practice Judi is teaching as both a national lecturer on primary care topics such as antibiotic overuse and resistance, as well as an adjunct professor in the graduate nursing program at Boston College. She was elected to represent the Nurse Practitioners of Massachusetts to theAmerican Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and then was elected to represent New England Nurse Practitioners on the Board of Directors for AANP. On a lighter side when she is not teaching you might find Judi skiing,golfing, on bike treks with the family, cheering at crew regattas, or doing one of a myriad of hobbies and projects. These include cake decorating, organic gardening, quilting, sewing and raising cocker spaniels just to name a few.