Doogie Howser Wannabe Busted at Florida Hospital

Move over Doogie Howser, there’s a new teen physician in town.

Unlike the fictional character, however, this teenager hasn’t gone to medical school. But, he does appear to have an knack for acting, having pulled off posing as a doctor at a Florida hospital for about a month.

The teen’s charade was uncovered Tuesday when officials at West Palm Beach’s St. Mary’s Medical Center received reports from a patient about a boy posing as a doctor, according to NBC-2. It seems the juvenile was spotted inside an exam room in the medical center’s OB/GYN office wearing a lab coat with “anesthesiology” printed on it, the station reported.

After a little digging, it was determined the boy had been spotted on the hospital’s campus numerous times over the past month, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Security guards even reported seeing the boy enter secured areas of the hospital.

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West Palm Beach Police checked into the hospital’s security tapes and sure enough, the teen was caught on camera entering the lobby from the parking lot. They even found his car outside with a lab coat on a hanger, the paper reported.

An actual doctor at the hospital is reported to have told police he’d never seen the boy, but did find a note on his desk from him requesting to “shadow” him, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

When cops sat down with the boy, he told them he’s been a doctor for quite some time, NBC reported.

The boy’s mother, however, told police he has an illness and refuses to take his medicine.

While it’s unclear if the teen had any interactions with patients, both hospital staff and police decided against pressing charges. His name and age were not revealed by authorities.

Image via Shutterstock