So a teenage kid was walking around in a lab coat at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach totally pretending to be a gynecologist.
According to an incident report, police got a call on Tuesday about a teen boy roaming the halls of the medical center wearing a lab coat and stethoscope, and telling people he was a doctor.
The name of the kid has not been released and his exact age was redacted from the West Palm Beach Police incident report, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The report says a patient spotted the kid walking around St. Mary's OB/GYN office. The kid, who is descried in the report as appearing "like a child," was wearing a coat with the medical center's logo and the word "anesthesiology" stitched on the front.
Even more brazenly, the kid told police that he has been a doctor for years, and that his family could vouch for him, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Apparently, some people at the medical center assumed the kid was a real-life Doogie Howser MD, because he was well known around the hospital as a doctor, according to one security guard interviewed by police. The kid had apparently been pulling this stunt for at least a month.
During that time, the kid was able to gain access into secured locations, and surveillance footage shows him walking into the lobby through the parking lot, like a doctor would.
The report says that the kid had requested a doctor in the OB/GYN office if he could shadow him, like an intern might.
St. Mary's released a statement on the situation, saying the teen never had contact with any patients, nor gained any access to patient care areas.
"The individual never had contact with any hospital patients and did not gain access to any patient care areas of the hospital at any time," the statement reads. "The hospital immediately notified local authorities, who took the individual into custody, and we are cooperating with their ongoing investigation. The safety and security of patients is our highest priority."
According to the Sun-Sentinel, the kid's mother says he is currently being treated for an undisclosed illness, but has refused to take his meds.
Neither the hospital nor police are going to charge the teen with any crime.
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