The Predictive Brain in Healthcare: Are You Seeing Reality or Just Your Expectations?

As a Healthcare Professional, you are trained to anticipate, recognize patterns, and respond with precision and skill. But what if your brain predicts too much—crafting narratives before you have all the information? Understanding how your "predictive brain" works could unlock new perspectives on how you care for your patients, communicate with colleagues, and interpret your experiences.

See if you can picture this: It's early morning, and you are heading for your first cup of coffee. Your brain has already set the scene: a steaming mug, rich aroma, that first energizing sip. You reach for the cup, take a sip...and realize someone swapped your coffee with decaf. Instantly, that bitter, disappointing taste feels like betrayal. Your brain was so ready for real coffee; that decaf feels almost like an insult.

This little moment shows just how powerful the predictive brain is. Your brain does not simply react; it creates expectations and prepare you emotionally, mentally, and physically for what's coming next. However, in Healthcare, this predictive function, while powerful, can sometimes lead you astray.

The Predictive Brain at Work in Healthcare

According to Jakob Hohwy's book, The Predictive Mind, your brain acts like it is constantly updating your GPS system, building a forecast based on prior knowledge and expected outcomes. This is what researchers call predictive processing. You rely on patterns and prior experiences to make quick assessments in Healthcare. You might predict that a patient's shortness of breath stems from anxiety if they have a history of it, only to discover, through a little extra probing, that they're dealing with an undiagnosed respiratory condition.

The predictive brain can be beneficial, giving you a shortcut to respond swiftly in fast-paced settings. But it also has challenges – it can lead you to interpret situations through a preset "script" rather than allowing you to see new or unexpected information clearly.

Mixed Emotions and Predictive Processing

In Healthcare, mixed emotions are part of the job. Your predictive brain can cause multiple emotions, especially when encountering unexpected situations. For example, you might feel calm while walking into a routine check-up with a familiar patient. But suppose that patient suddenly reveals alarming new symptoms. In that case, you might feel a mixture of calm professionalism and underlying concern, with your brain quickly adjusting its "forecast." This constant balancing of expectation and reality creates a unique emotional dynamic in your work.

In high-stakes situations, your predictive brains can help you stay grounded when you can also create a sense of conflict. For instance, if you anticipate a procedure going smoothly based on past success, but a complication arises, you might feel both competent and suddenly unnerved. This ability to hold multiple emotions at once is an essential part of managing the Healthcare environment – and it all comes down to your brains continuously adjusting their internal predictions.

How Predictive Processing Shapes Patient Care

Your predictive brain doesn't just impact your experiences; it can shape your patient interactions. Imagine a patient whose symptoms seem to align perfectly with a common diagnosis. If you don't pause to consider all factors, you may miss the subtleties of their case. Hohwy suggests that your brains develop internal "scripts" based on past cases, which can sometimes be incredibly useful—but in healthcare, each patient is unique. Those scripts can occasionally lead us astray.

These preset scripts, or mental shortcuts, affect how you listen, ask questions, and interpret patient responses. In a field where accuracy is essential, there's real value in acknowledging when our brains might be prematurely filling in the blanks. For instance, a patient presenting with fatigue might be quickly diagnosed with stress-related symptoms. However, digging deeper might reveal an underlying issue that needs to be clarified. Adjusting our "predictions" and staying open to new information ensures we're giving the most comprehensive care possible.

How Can We Use This Knowledge?

Reflecting on my coffee incident, I realized that sometimes, you must "reset" your expectations. Your brain will always try to anticipate and simplify, but reality often has different plans in healthcare. The key to harnessing the power of your predictive brain is learning when to pause and recalibrate. Before stepping into a patient's room, ask yourself: "What assumptions am I bringing here? Are you helping you understand this patient or limiting your perspective?"

A Thought-Provoking Question

As a Healthcare Professional, you thrive on certainty and structure. But as we embrace the unpredictable aspects of our work, a crucial question arises: Are you seeing your patients, colleagues, and even yourself as you truly are or as you expect them to be? In an ever-changing field, the ability to balance prediction with presence could be one of our most valuable tools.

By learning to navigate your brain's predictions, you can improve patient care and grow in empathy and insight. Embracing the unknown may sound daunting, but it might be the most straightforward path forward in a profession built on caring for others.