Supposedly Good TV Doctors Whom You Would Never Want As Your Practitioner

Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood) is chief of surgery at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital on the Fox drama, The Resident. On the surface, he seems like the perfect surgeon. However, he hides a medical condition that causes a hand tremor. A shaky hand is detrimental to any surgeon's career - thus, every time Dr. Bell operates, he is putting his patient's life on the line.

When performing surgery, Dr. Bell is effectively implying that his medical career is more important than saving a human life.

Before Bryan Cranston took on the role of meth-making kingpin Walter White on Breaking Bad, he appeared on several episodes of Seinfeld as Dr. Tim Whatley, Jerry's re-gifting dentist. In one episode, Seinfeld becomes offended when he thinks Whatley converted to Judaism solely to make Jewish jokes without sounding like an anti-Semite. When Whatley gets wind of Jerry's outrage, he makes the comedian pay by adding extra time and work while in the dentist's chair.

However, Whatley's worst alleged crime comes after Jerry discovers dirty magazines in the waiting room. After Jerry awakes from sedation, he sees a nurse and Whatley start getting dressed - but he isn't sure if that's what they're actually doing, as he is still hazy from the anesthesia. Jerry also realizes his shirt is untucked, but can't remember if he had tucked it in or left it out when he got dressed.

Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane) became a recurring character on ER during the acclaimed medical drama's fourth season. Though this general surgeon demonstrated talent, he was also incredibly rude. One of his most cold-hearted acts came during Season 7 when he contributed to the firing of psychiatrist Dr. Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell), primarily because she was a lesbian.

Romano had few friends in the ER, and his colleagues universally disliked him. He also faced a sexual harassment accusation in Season 5. It's a bad sign when a doctor encounters animosity from almost everyone he meets and becomes alienated from his entire staff. In Season 10, a falling helicopter killed Romano.

Featured on the wonderful medical drama, Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) is one of the most celebrated and talented surgeons around. He is the top physician for anyone with a heart condition, until his pride takes over, making him a danger to his patients.

In the show, Burke gets shot in the shoulder, and the bullet wound causes nerve damage in his arm. It's enough to cause his hand to shake, which is disastrous for a surgeon. Despite this, Burke continues to perform surgery. He also involves his fiancée at the time, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), in his cover-up. She often has to step in to take over complicated heart surgeries when she knows Burke can't perform at his best.

Audiences first met Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) on the beloved sitcom Cheers. In 1993, Grammer agreed to take his character from Boston to Seattle, and one of the most successful spinoffs in television history debuted. Frasier is a well-educated and kind psychiatrist. However, he is also extremely judgemental, snooty, fussy, and pompous. 

On Frasier, the titular doctor is a host on a psychotherapy call-in radio program called "The Dr. Frasier Crane Show." The program allows him to help other people, which he genuinely enjoys doing, but it also gives him a platform to talk endlessly about himself. The show offers the doctor a fair share of celebrity, too - which only strokes his ever-growing ego. If a caller refuses to heed his sage advice, Fraiser publicly berates them.

If a patient is in need of psychiatric help, is an arrogant and narrow-minded elitist the best person to consult? Fraiser may mean well, but he's ultimately self-involved and shallow.

For anyone unaware of the middling CBS medical drama, Chicago Hope, Dr. Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin) is like an early version of Dr. House from House. The brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon was formerly the top dog in the operating room, but his bedside manner needed improvement.

Dr. Geiger's brash behavior and severe emotional issues may have emerged due to his infant son's death, who died from his mother drowning him. The tragedy left Dr. Geiger distressed and emotionally unstable. Geiger left the hospital during Season 2, only to return at the tail end of Season 5 when he became the Chicago hospital's chairman of the board. His first act as chairman was to fire half of the doctors on staff.