What We Are Writing - Something in Return: Memoirs of a Life in Medicine, by George H. Kurz, MD

Editor’s Note: A number of senior ophthalmologists, over the years, have published books about their careers and other aspects of medicine as well as nonmedical books. In this issue of Scope, we introduce a new feature in which we will highlight books written by our colleagues. If you have published a book, or know of a colleague who has done so, we hope you will let us know, so we can include it in this column in future issues.

In his new memoir, “Something in Return: Memoirs of a Life in Medicine,” George H. Kurz, MD, recounts vignettes from his 37 years in ophthalmology. Some are surprising or humorous while others are inspiring, and a few are tragic.

A Philadelphia native, Dr. Kurz attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate and medical degrees and ophthalmology residency. He practiced at Hunterdon Medical Center in New Jersey and continued on the staff of that hospital until his retirement. He served as clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at New York University and clinical professor of ophthalmology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He lives in a retirement community in Pennsylvania.

Over the years Dr. Kurz traveled to China, Ecuador, the Philippines and several places in Africa for teaching and patient care. On one particularly rewarding occasion in Tanzania, he oversaw the first-ever implantation of an intraocular lens in that country.

“The opportunity to peek over the shoulder of an eye surgeon is rare,” says Lewis P. Bird, PhD, a retired university professor of medical ethics, in a review on Amazon. “In this fascinating memoir,” Bird continues, “Kurz takes us on one adventure after another, both at home and abroad, when a physician is a godsend. This gifted storyteller lets us discover how the heart of medicine beats.”

The book contains a foreword by Stuart L. Fine, M.D., an emeritus professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Five excerpts from the book have been published in Scope in recent years. It is available in hard cover or paperback as well as a Kindle edition.