Jessica Spissinger was born and raised in Plattsburgh, NY. She attended college at Wheaton College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor in Arts in Creative Writing. After completing her degree, she relocated to San Francisco where she served for Americorps via Habitat for Humanity. After two years living and working in the San Francisco area, she applied to a volunteer program in the Canadian Arctic and spent five months living in Inuvik, a town north of the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories. Influenced by this experience as well as from Americorps, she decided to pursue a masters degree in social work. Upon completed a Master of Science in Social Work Studies from Columbia University, Ms. Spissinger worked as a therapist in the field of women's trauma for several years at Princeton Healthcare System as well as UCLA Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center. After several years in women's trauma, Ms. Spissinger shifted to medical social work at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA, including Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Pediatrics, Maternal Fetal Health and medical surgical floors of this hospital. At this juncture, interest in pursuing a career in medicine began to percolate. After relocating to Chicago and working in the Psychiatric Emergency department at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Ms. Spissinger decided to further her knowledge in medicine and pursue a career as a physician assistant.
Ms. Spissinger attended PA school at Rosaland Franklin University in North Chicago and graduated in 2013. Ms. Spissinger relocated to Massachusetts and started working in the field of geriatric psychiatry for several years before expanding into adult mental health. Shortly after being licensed as a PA in Massachusetts, Ms. Spissinger joined the Association of PAs in Psychiatry in 2014 and became Secretary to the organization in 2016 to September 2021, working to expand PAs practice in psychiatry and eliminate current barriers. Ms. Spissinger completed her Certificate of Additional Qualification in psychiatry (CAQ-Psych) in 2018. In December 2021 she became an adjunct faculty instructor at the MGHIHP PA program and joined full time in July 2022. Ms. Spissinger is passionate about encouraging PAs to work in psychiatry. She continues to reach out to practicing Psych PAs to join together to improve advocacy efforts.
BA, Writing and Literature, Wheaton College: Norton, MA
MS, Social Work, Columbia University, School of Social Work: New York, NY
MPAS, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science: North Chicago, IL
