Dr. Gish began his medical training in 1974 when he was enrolled into the Pharmacy School at the University of Kansas. Dr. Gish transferred to the University of Kansas Medical School in 1977 and finished his MD degree in 1980. Dr. Gish went on to complete a 3 year Internal Medicine residency at the University of California, San Diego and a 4 year Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles during which time he was award the NIH Physician Scientist Award to study calcium signaling in liver cells.
After completing his training, Dr. Gish moved to San Francisco and took a position at the California Pacific Medical Center (formerly known as Pacific Presbyterian Hospital). He became the Co-Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1988 and then the Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1994. In that role he developed a outreach program that eventually served over 35,000 patients in the Northern California and Nevada regions, and made the CPMC a leading liver transplant center.
Dr. Gish formed the medical consulting firm Robert G. Gish Consultants LLC in 2013 to assist liver and liver transplant programs with their operational, outreach, compliance, financial planning and program development. His firm also provides consultations with Pharma and a means of interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and CME organizations in addition to promoting liver health policies throughout the world.