Kurtis obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from San Francisco State University after working a decade as a respiratory therapist. He attended the Physician Assistant (PA) school at Stanford's Primary Care Associate Program, graduating with honors in 1991. After working for 2 years in cardiac surgery, urgent care, and occupational medicine, Kurtis began working at UCSF with Professor Marcus Conant, M.D. As the first dermatology PA in San Francisco, Kurtis's dermatological training spanned a ten year period with Dr. Conant. Kurtis is past president and co-founder of the Society of Dermatology PA's, a steering committee member of the SFBAPA, and founder of the Derm PA Journal Club of San Francisco.