Dual Degree, Dual Passion
The Miller School’s first M.D./M.B.A. graduate cares for patients while improving health care behind the scenes
By Julie Landry Laviolette
Photography by Angela DeCenzo
Dr. Ghislaine Guez pays it forward through scholarship donations.
G
hislaine “Gilly” Guez, M.D./ M.B.A. ’10, has built a career blending administrative duties with patient care. On weekdays, she is the chief medical officer at Aspire Health in Monterey, California. Two weekends a month, she drives more than two hours to see patients at a Modesto hospital.
And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dr. Guez’s passion for improving health care policy as an administrator while also caring for patients was inspired by her time at the Miller School, where she was the first graduate of the dual M.D./M.B.A. program. Currently offered through a partnership between the Miller School and the Miami Herbert Business School, the program prepares future physicians for the business complexities of running a practice and for careers in health sector management, leadership and policy.
“Those programs set me up for all the leadership opportunities I’ve had since medical school. Looking at physicians as future leaders was really important to my career and my growth,” said Dr. Guez, who is board certified in internal medicine.
Dr. Guez earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a medical writer before realizing she wanted to perform the procedures she was writing about. She took night classes at Columbia University before attending the Miller School.
Following a residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, she went on to work as chief hospitalist at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California, then as a clinical instructor and academic hospitalist at Stanford School of Medicine, and medical director of Central California Alliance for Health in Salinas.
In 2020, Dr. Guez was named chief medical officer of Valley Health Plan, the health plan of Santa Clara County, California, government.
It was rewarding work, but she said the nearly two-hour commute two to three times a week was exhausting with young children. In 2023, Dr. Guez joined Aspire Health, closer to home.
“I like to support patients through their hospital journey,” she said. “Having the right type of doctor helps patients experience the vulnerability of a hospital stay a little easier.”
Dr. Guez supports scholarships for both the Miller School and the Miami Herbert Business School. As a scholarship recipient herself, she said she wants to continue paying it forward.
“The Miller School encouraged growth and development, with flexibility and encouragement to remain enthusiastic and passionate about learning,” she said. “It was truly one of the most positive educational experiences of my life.”
To support Miller School of Medicine scholarships, visit the scholarship fund page. 
