By PL JETER

The dentist dad of Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, emigrated to the United States from India in 1979 with only $8 in his pocket. His incentive: to live the American Dream and provide otherwise improbable opportunities for his family.

"Everything my dad did centered on my education," said Brahmbhatt. "He never cut corners to make sure I always had the best educational opportunities possible for a very strong base foundation."

As a high school junior in New Jersey who had excelled academically and on his SATs, Brahmbhatt was taken aback when he wasn't approved for early acceptance into a prestigious pre-med program. "That was an eye opener," he admitted. "It motivated me to work even harder because by then, I knew medicine was what I wanted to pursue."

Brahmbhatt, whose extended family includes doctors and nurses, graduated from Boston College magna cum laude in 2003, and earned his MD from Boston University School of Medicine in 2007. An internship and subsequent residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Department of Surgery confirmed his interest in urology. "Urologists are usually the earliest adopters of technology; urology provides a great mix of medicine and surgery," he explained. Four years ago, he completed a fellowship in robotic microsurgery focusing on male infertility through the University of Florida and Winter Haven Hospital and immediately joined The PUR (Personalized Urology & Robotics) Clinic, affiliated with South Lake Hospital and Orlando Health, as co-director.

The PUR Clinic has been recognized as the nation's highest volume practice of its kind in the management of chronic groin and testicular pain. "At last count, we've helped more than 5,000 men from all over the world," he said, adding that first-visit patients usually share similar experiences, of "going from doctor to doctor, winding up on chronic narcotics or some kind of (dependent) opiate that temporizes or masks the pain. We've been able to give them more permanent solutions, surgical solutions."

Brahmbhatt credits his partner, Sijo Parekattil, MD, with taking the reins on the movement toward urological microsurgery solutions. Tracked data confirms their success via published research projects. "We essentially utilize the robot to do more efficiently what doctors have been doing for years when it comes to the management of conditions for infertility and management for conditions for chronic testicular pain," he explained.

To encourage men to live healthier lifestyles and engage in preventive medical screenings, Brahmbhatt and Parekattil hit the road in a Tesla for the Drive 4 Men's Health, a 10-day, 6,000-mile road trip every June that includes hospital and health clinic stops on the cross-country trek. "We do it because we're really passionate about helping people," said the father of three daughters - 3-year-old twins and a 4-year-old who turns 5 in February. "Because we really care about helping people, we've also been able to utilize the robot in microsurgery to improve patients' fertility. That's perhaps our most important and lasting work."

Brahmbhatt expands his reach via TV as a national on-air health expert with a robust social media presence. "In the office, I can maybe see 20 patients in a half-day clinic, or 40 patients in a full-day clinic," he said. "But in a 3-minute segment on TV, I can affect over 40 million lives."

Through TEDx, Brahmbhatt gives talks internationally not only on urologic technology advances, but also discussions about problems all physicians face. "The lecture I'm most proud of was my TEDx talk in London last year, where I discussed physician burnout," he said. "Because physicians have been overrun by the system and as a result may have become somewhat disgruntled, it's important to remind them that sometimes, we have to return to what drew us to medicine in the first place: our passion to help others. There are so many naysayers out there, you must surround yourself with people who believe in and share your passion. Then you're able to conquer anything. 'Never give up' is the motto in the talks I give, whether to students, doctors or my own family."