Do you know of any doctors or have you ever visited a doctor who seemed just far too young to ...

Do you know of any doctors or have you ever visited a doctor who seemed just far too young to actually be a reputable licensed physician?

I remember seeing this movie called, “As Good As It Gets”. There was one great scene in which Helen Hunt was complaining to Jack Nicholson about the doctors that treated her son. In particular she complained they looked like “teenagers”.

Well, I wanted to ask if you have ever been surprised when visiting a doctor for the first time (or just being introduced to a doctor for the first time) because they may have appeared so young to you that you may have thought someone was just fooling with you.

In particular, do you think that if you ever made an appointment with a doctor and you saw them for the first time and they were really 18 years old … would it be possible that they could have fooled you?

Or, would it be possible they could have passed for a doctor had they adopted a sufficiently good air of confidence and/or competence?

Here is a story that may influence you before going to visit a new doctor for the first time.

“Florida teen arrested after posing as doctor, opening medical practice”.

I’m just wondering if this kid did this perhaps because he may have had some unusual sexual fantasies that he could never have indulged with women his own age and he couldn’t afford to hire professional sex workers either.

At any rate, it all just seems so improbable to me. But then, I’m left scratching my head and wondering if some 18 year-old could ever have fooled me.

Yeah, just saw this on the news.

It’s all kind of WTF?

His first offense a few months back…at least he was AT A real hospital, put on a lab coat and started at it…anybody could do that…

His RECENT offense…it sounds like he “opened” his own clinic…how the fuck did he manage that?

Going strictly by the description in the article of his practice, I wouldn’t believe an individual of any age matching that description could possibly be a medical doctor. His physical appearance wouldn’t even factor into it. I’m curious whether his “staff” were arrested as well.

Interesting what that “doctor” had to say for himself at the fox link above.

I’ve noticed that con artists tend to use the largest words they can find or invent to describe what they do - try to impress people with their “knowledge”… Whereas REAL professionals will try to use everyday language (small words) to communicate what they do - try to talk in a language which all people can understand.

Discussion of the news article would belong here but it looks like the OP is also asking for opinions on a broader related topic as well. Moved to IMHO.

About 15 years ago or so, we had a family doctor who we called “Doogie” between ourselves because he seemed so young. Now we’re seeing a PA who isn’t much older than our daughter. On the other hand, we’re more than old enough to belong to AARP, so it’s not surprising that more and more of the professionals we deal with will be younger than we are.

Still, that kid in Florida looks like a kid. And the name of his clinic was too flaky for me to ever have considered going there, but some people…

“I am a well rounded proffesional” should have been the first clue.

Indeed. Everything on his page demonstrates some really tortured language. Not to mention a generous helping of woo.

For what it’s worth, I once saw a doctor while I was in tremendous pain; I thought the doctor seemed unusually young, but I was mostly thinking of the tremendous pain.

Did I mention the pain? The pain was tremendous. The doctor could’ve looked and talked like William Shatner and I would’ve gone with it.

Excellent point! I’ve noticed that as well - also from people who seem to be insecure and try to impress everyone with their “fake” superiority.

Same here. Everyone seems to be getting younger. I’ve made that transition from “I could date that waitress” to “That waitress is too young for me” to “That waitress is too young for my sons”.

When I first met the PA at the clinic I use, I actually asked her what time her mom was picking her up. Luckily, she laughed (I apologized for making that joke when we didn’t know each other’s sense of humor).

Years ago, our GP at the time retired and sold her practice to two young women. They really did look like they were 18. I had no real problem with them other than they never seemed to actually look at me when I went in there, but rather relied on what was on the computer screen to make their decisions. It was off-putting, to say the least.

Huh. I am starting get doctors younger than me, and some that are starting out. That doesn’t faze me too much. Sexual impropriety would! And I don’t see anything about that in the article? :confused:

I’m 58. About a year and a half ago I took my dog to a specialist vet after a referral by my regular vet. She was very competent and professional but I swear, she seemed to be about sixteen. Dressed in jeans and a tee shirt she could have easily passed as a high schooler.

I’ve known enough people in their late 20s to mid 30s who looked like very early teens not to be surprised much. But I must admit that none were doctors; one being a nurse is the closest I can come.

(Once I found out she was a nurse and not some candy-stripe Girl-Scout-Working-On-Her-Merit-Badge I was fine with her treating me)

Pretty much all of them now. The last junior-dermatologist I saw was a real doofus but he finally gave me what I needed. (I’ve been seeing dermatologists since before he got his diploma.) On the other hand, the last orthopedist I saw was, we’ll start with, highly qualified and seemed to know exactly what she was doing. She was also an exceptionally beautiful Chinese, I can’t say anything else but…girl. Sure, she was an exceptionally beautiful Chinese woman, but I kept thinking, how is this chick legal? At least she wasn’t a proctologist. :eek:

I tend to like having younger doctors and dentists, since they have the most current, up-to-date training.

The only problem comes when they ACT really young, rather than when they look really young. I worry a bit about a very smart young doctor who still comes across as the frat boy he was a few years ago. Or about the very smart young pediatrician who hasn’t quite grasped that she’s supposed to be the voice of authority in a consultation, rather than the awkward nerd she was a few years ago.

Really? You know multiple 35-year-olds who look like they’re 13-14?

Or damn close; at least in that bracket. One I have related in other threads. Semi-short version — I was running a history program for our state DCNR and for the one battle scenario we needed some kids to get kidnapped by our Natives. So this group of five kids comes over and the oldest girl (maybe 13, maybe 15 if you really stretched the call) says they would like to volunteer. I said “sure - but I have to clear it with one of your parents first.” She looked me square in the eye and informed me that SHE was the parent and 32 years old. And got out her drivers license to prove it. And it wasn’t just me; everyone else on the staff had to see the license before they would believe it. Her response was “That’s OK – I’m used to it. A lot of times I carry my passport just to be safe.”.

One I haven’t mentioned before is one of my co-workers. He often gets into movies and events at kid rates. And he’s 29. :smack: HR ran him through every check in the book and he is indeed 29. But all of us are still basically shaking our heads. I’ve seen pictures of him with his family at 12 and from the last year or so and its freaky; everyone else looks older and he looks almost exactly the same. So either there is a wide variation in the human animal or someone invented the perfect robot (IE Data from TNG) and managed to keep it secret.

My only thought, and it isn’t a very nice one, is that if they ever went into porn they would make a fortune!

“Myrtle, that doctor looks waay too young to be practicing medicine. I remember Doc Lingwald, now there was a real doctor! Used to work with the Mayo brothers, knew his way around a stethoscope, not like these young whipper-snappers now with their computers, sighing and sneaking glances at the clock when I’m only twenty minutes into explaining how the gallbladder only bothers me when I eat two-day-old cucumber casserole. Tests they say, always more tests when Doc Lingwald would’ve just given me the liver pills and be done with it. Did I tell you how the scan showed I have two spleens? I did?”