A teen posing as a doctor in Florida is being called a Doogie Howser imposter.
The 17-year-old boy wandered the halls of St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach for weeks wearing a white lab coat with the hospital’s logo and and
"anesthesiology" embroidered on the front, USA Today reported.
Doogie Howser was the name of the genius child doctor played by Neil Patrick Harris on the television show "Doogie Howser, M.D." from 1989 to 1993.
Numerous hospital employees had seen the teen and believed he was a doctor before he was caught in an examination room while a gynecologist conducted an exam. Gynecologist Sebastian Kent said the teen was wearing a stethoscope around his neck and a face mask, according to USA Today.
Hospital security and police were called after Kent became suspicious that something about the teen’s medical training wasn’t accurate.
"He presented himself with a patient of our practice and
introduced himself as Dr. Robinson," Kent said, according to WSVN-TV. "The first thing I thought was, 'I am really getting old because these young doctors look younger every year.'"
The hospital and police have decided not to press charges.
The teen told police that he had been a doctor “for years,” and an OB/GYN at the hospital told police he found a note on his desk from the
teen asking to shadow him, the Sun Sentinel said.
The teen’s mother told police that her son has an undisclosed illness and hadn’t been taking his medicine.