Determining how many patients are present is called

• A. Additional Resources
• B. Scene Size-Up
• C. Number of Patients
• D. General Impression

Answer: (C)

At the outset of any EMS response, you perform a scene size-up to quickly assess safety, the mechanism or nature of the problem, and what resources are needed. Within that rapid assessment, counting how many patients are present is a specific step used to gauge the scale of the incident and to decide how many responders and what level of care are required. This particular action—determining how many patients there are—is what we call the Number of Patients. It informs you about resource needs, potential triage actions, and patient prioritization. The other terms refer to broader or different aspects: general impression is your overall quick sense of the scene or patient, scene size-up is the overall process, and additional resources is about requesting more help.