***Top Doctors of 2018 Honoree by Sonoma Magazine***
Dr. Kurss has recently joined the St. Joseph Health Medical Group’s division of Obstetrics & Gynecology. He specializes in obstetrics, including both normal and high risk pregnancies and gynecology, including well-woman care, evaluation and treatment of menstrual irregularities, chronic pelvic pain, infections, and menopausal symptoms. He has additional interests in both in-office and minimally invasive gynecologic procedures and is always accepting new patients.
A few words from Dr. Kurss:
“When deciding on a lifetime career, pick a field that you are passionate about – one in which you will continuously enjoy expanding your knowledge base and improving your skills – but more importantly, choose a discipline that enables you to contribute to a population that you most want to serve, and with that choice, happiness and fulfillment will follow.”
This is the most resonant token of advice that I received as a young man from my parents and grandparents. I grew up in Buffalo, NY, observing the physician‐patient relationship through the lives of my grandfather (a Gastroenterologist) and father (an Obstetrician and Gynecologist), and understanding the innumerable rewards that could come from it. As I grew to learn and appreciate the value in being able to care for others from them and from the many strong women in my life, I naturally dreamt (from a young age) of pursuing a life in medicine. Navigating through pre-medical studies at the University of Pittsburgh, medical studies at American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (St. Maarten, NA) and recently completing my residency at Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital (Philadelphia, PA), I am blessed to be realizing and living that dream as a third-generation physician, and a second generation Obstetrician and Gynecologist.
As I completed my medical school rotations all around the New York City area, I was determined to find that field –the one that not only allowed me to draw upon my inherent qualities and acquired skills, but the one which also provided me with the most powerful and meaningful experiences. Recounting and reflecting upon my greatest medical school moments brought the joyous and heartfelt decision to pursue my career in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Obstetrics and Gynecology, to me, was and is the true conglomerate of all of the branches of medicine. It integrates the continuity of care and breadth of knowledge associated with Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics, with the information base and technical skills required in Surgery. It requires the ability to both face and assuage the emotional concerns encountered by patients in psychiatry, while also adding its own unique skillset and applying it to a unique population.
During my residency in Philadelphia, I dedicated myself to my patients and colleagues. Working tirelessly to learn new information, clinical guidelines and practices, and develop sound technical and surgical skills, I graduated as a competent and confident physician, who was known to be thorough and meticulous, kind, compassionate, and friendly with a great sense of humor, and a strong interest in both teaching and learning from his patients and others. I trained at an institution where I was exposed to virtually all aspects of the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology and I had the privilege of treating women of all ages, demographics, and health and social statuses across many different environments, and with that, I have come to really enjoy the variety that this field provides me with. In the Office setting, I can educate and advise an adolescent on adapting to the many new changes in her life and body; I can care for reproductive-aged women, fostering healthy pre‐conception, prenatal, and postpartum habits during the family planning years; I can provide both well‐ and not‐so‐well‐woman care by treating menstrual irregularities, pelvic pain, or any other GYN‐related ailment with both non-surgical and surgical techniques; and I can assist peri- and post-menopausal women in finding comfort through their often-challenging transitional period and beyond. On Labor and Delivery, I have the distinct honor of bearing witness to and playing a (small) role in the beginning and/or growth of my patients’ families. In the Operating Room, I take pride in being able to surgically alleviate my patient’s symptoms.
The global interests and experiences which I have amassed over my formative years, are what led me to pursue this position as a general Obstetrician and Gynecologist, so that I could provide all of the aforementioned services (and more) for my patients, and form long‐term, meaningful and trusting relationships with them and their families throughout all of the phases of their lives.
I am so honored and excited to be able to start my new career and life here in Sonoma County. I look forward to establishing myself here, learning and integrating new, state‐of‐the‐art practices and procedures, and serving my patients, their families, and our community with honest, compassionate, and comprehensive evidence-based obstetric and gynecologic care.