NAMES IN THE NEWS : ‘Doogie’ Prescription: Grow Up

“Doogie Howser, M.D.,” a TV series about a 16-year-old physician, is even more improbable than most shows, say officials at two of the country’s top medical schools.

Dr. Doogie, played by Neil Patrick Harris, is just too far ahead of his time, said Helen Rakin, a Harvard Medical School admissions officer.

“Doogie Howser would have had to graduate from college at 9, start medical school at 10, graduate from medical school at 14, then, after one year of internship and one year of residency, obtain his license to practice at 16,” she said in this week’s TV Guide. “I don’t think so.”

Dr. Henry M. Seidel, associate dean of students at Johns Hopkins Medical School, said that if he were on the admissions committee, a real-life Doogie would never be accepted to medical school.

“I would say to Doogie, ‘Look, we need people with smarts. You’ve got that. Now all you need is the rest of it. . . . When you get to be 19 or 20, then come back and reapply, and chances are, you’re going to get in. But Doogie, not now. Just get your first kiss.’ ”