Daniel Stewart, 24, who suffers from bipolar disorder, impersonated a doctor and followed medical personnel around in an emergency room of Cape Fear Valley Medical Center; he even became involved with patients. He was charged on November 3rd with three misdemeanor counts of impersonating a doctor, said Lt. Chris Davis of the Fayetteville Police Department, North Carolina. Stewart had posed as a visiting resident-in-training.
Apparently, relatives said he always wanted to be a doctor. An uncle was quoted as saying in a local newspaper that as long as he complies with his treatment (takes his medication), he is OK. If he doesn’t he is somebody else.
Hospital staff began to become suspicious when they noticed Stewart did not have a badge, a requirement for personnel who work in the emergency department.
The hospital said no patient got hurt or was affected in any way. Stewart was never on his own with a patient.
Stewart said (on WTVD-TV):
- “There was no direct patient care involved. If something was wrong, (they) should’ve let me know, instead of going to the police.”
A hospital spokesman, Vince Benbenek said that Stewart had a history of impersonation.
Benbenek said:
- “The health system has performed a thorough review of all policies related to identification. Our staff has been advised to stay vigilant in checking identification.”
Stewart claims to have studied medicine and graduated from the University of Tennessee. According to the Fayetteville Observer, the University has never heard of him and has nothing about him in their records.
He said he had filed a lawsuit against the hospital system at the Cumberland County Courthouse. This also appears to be false.
Stewart’s uncle thought he worked in the hospital. He had driven him to an “interview”, waited outside in his car, and saw him coming out in scrubs.
Source: WTVD-TV, FayObserver.
Written by Christian Nordqvist