Oncologist Turns Burnout Into a Musical

For Stuart Bloom, MD, musical theater is medicine.

His show, “How to Avoid Burnout in 73 Minutes,” sold out 1,000 seats over a 5-night run in April at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis — and among the feedback he heard from other physicians was, “‘Thank you for reminding me why I do this,'” he told MedPage Today.

But writing musicals — and starring in them — is hardly a stretch for Bloom, an oncologist and hematologist at the University of Minnesota. It’s something he simply can’t turn away from, even with a busy schedule of caring for patients and teaching medical students.

Prior to completing medical school in his 30s and becoming a practicing oncologist in his early 40s, Bloom lived in New York City, where he worked as an actor and a comedian. “I’ve been writing songs for years,” he explained.

It wasn’t until after his own father was diagnosed with stomach cancer and he and his wife returned to Minneapolis (where they are both from) that he considered becoming an oncologist. From there, his medical career fell into place.

But all the while, he kept writing songs.

“It’s a way to process my life,” Bloom said. “It’s kind of how I journal.”

But about 5 or 6 years ago, he noticed his songs had “an arc to them,” he recalled. “I was burning out, myself.”

Ultimately, he decided to write a musical to address that very struggle.

In the show, Bloom plays an oncologist named Stu, which he jokingly called a “big stretch,” while another actor plays Stu’s inner voice. The action of the show consists of going through a burnout questionnaire in an oncology clinic — with songs.

“What’s happening is that people are leaving medicine in droves,” he said of burnout in the field. “There is a huge doctor shortage, now.”

Bloom covers several sources of burnout in the show, including mountains of clinical work and frustrations with electronic medical records. He also pointed to an ongoing trend that most physicians are now employees rather than independent practitioners as they once were.

Among the musical numbers in the show is “Boo-Hoo,” which relates having to deliver bad news to a young patient whose cancer has spread to their brain.

“You wouldn’t think that’s a show song,” Bloom said. But the number has been well-received, he says, and helps the show build to one of its high points.

Bloom performed the show a number of times at smaller theaters, including the Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis, as well as at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, before bringing it to The Southern Theater.

“So, I thought, OK, this time for sure, I’m just going to do it one last time, I’m going to rent a really big theater. I’m going to do it for 5 nights. And I will know at the end of this if it’s something that we should continue, or if it was just kind of a really fun thing to do…”

“But again, it sold out,” he said. “And, so, we’re probably going to do it again next May at the same theater.”

Audiences have primarily been other medical professionals, though Bloom feels anyone can enjoy the show and find it relatable, since everyone has experienced pressure and burnout — as well as getting sick and being seen by doctors.

For Bloom’s part, the show reflects an important intersection of art and medicine.

“I have this thing, and it’s so fun to do, and it’s very meaningful for me to do, and it’s so meaningful to see the effect it’s had on others,” Bloom said. “It’s just kind of a way to get back in touch with why we all went into medicine to begin with.”

Until the show’s next run, Bloom plans to continue writing songs and medical musicals in his spare time.

“It’s a very important thing I have found,” Bloom said, “I can’t not do it.”