With the economy causing a slump in all types of business, a Long Island doctor has unveiled a secret weapon to jump start his practice.
Doctors normally hire nurses, assistants and secretaries, but Dr. Lloyd Landsman, a Smithtown plastic surgeon, has hired a former Playboy Playmate, 26 year old Courtney Culkin, as vice president for business development.
After 16 years as a plastic surgeon, Landsman said “Traditional radio, television and newspaper advertising aren’t doing the job of attracting new clients.”
Potential clients, are at spas, gyms, beauty salons and clubs, not watching the TV, so Landsman hired the playmate, for the vice president position.
“Courtney is a former [Playboy] centerfold, and the qualities that made her successful there are the qualities she brings here.” Landsman said 90 percent of his patients are women, looking to maintain their youthful looks and figures. Culkin, a 2005 Playboy centerfold, was hired in December.
A psychology graduate of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, Culkin said the economy has been a challenge so far in her job. But, she says, “I’m reaching out to the beauty industry, the fashion industry. That’s where I have my expertise.”
Linda Adams, a spokeswoman for the New York State Medical Society, said such a hiring by a doctor is unusual. “We’ve never heard of it before,” she said.
