Week 1 is where the program starts. Stabilize, form your team, see your situation clearly, and make your first set of specific commitments for the week ahead.
In clinical critical care, stabilization comes first. You don't treat the long-term problem until the patient is stable enough to receive treatment. Week 1 is the same. Before we work on any specific recovery task, we get you stabilized, oriented, and connected to your team. Nothing else works if this doesn't.
Every other week of the program runs the full CODE cycle: Current state audit, team case work in Observe, your decision plan in Decide, and an Evaluate check on last week's commitments.
Week 1 is different because there is no last week to evaluate, and there is no case yet. The team is just meeting for the first time. The focus is on setting the foundation so every week after runs well.
This week's Current state work is the grade audit (required) and the failure mode diagnostic (optional but highly recommended). Both give you and your facilitator a clear baseline of where you are.
No case this week. Your live session focuses on meeting your team, building your team charter, and setting shared norms for the next 8 weeks.
After your live session, you write your Week 1 decision plan. Three specific commitments for the week and one 24-hour action to get started.
Nothing to evaluate yet. Next week's Current state audit will open with an Evaluate section checking whether you did what you said you would in this week's decision plan.
The first live session is different from every one that follows. There is no case to work on. Your facilitator will guide your team through introductions, the team charter, and the ground rules for the next 8 weeks.
Come prepared to share briefly about your situation (your course, your grade so far, why you are here), and come prepared to listen well while your teammates share theirs. Every student in the room is doing what you are doing. You are not alone in this, and your team knows it.
The work of Week 1 is noticing
Before you can change anything, you have to see it clearly. The grade audit, the diagnostic, and the team conversation all do the same job from different angles: they help you see where you actually are. Nothing about your situation is unfixable. But you cannot fix what you cannot see.
Do not try to catch up on the entire course this week. Do not try to rebuild all your study habits at once. The goal of Week 1 is stabilization, not transformation.
Go to class. Turn in what is due. Show up to your live session. Complete your grade audit and your decision plan. That is the entire assignment. Anything else you do this week is extra credit.
If you are in crisis right now
If this week already feels impossible, if something in your life outside of school is falling apart, if you are struggling with mental health in a serious way, tell your facilitator before the live session. STAT is not a substitute for actual mental health care or crisis support. We will help you figure out what you need.