You are the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of a motor-vehicle crash. What should your first priority be?

In a situation where you are the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of a motor-vehicle crash, it is crucial to ensure that adequate resources are available to handle the incident. Requesting additional ambulances to respond to the scene is an essential step, as it helps to prepare for the potential number of patients involved and ensures that there are sufficient personnel and equipment to manage the situation effectively.

This priority serves several purposes. First, it allows for a timely response to multiple casualties, minimizing the risk of overwhelmed medical responders. Second, it ensures that team members can focus on providing care while additional resources are en route. While assessing and treating critically injured patients is important, without the assurance of sufficient help, treatment could be compromised, especially if there are multiple victims.

Communicating with medical control and notifying the trauma center are also important steps, but these activities can happen concurrently with the request for more ambulances or shortly after. The immediate priority in such a scenario must be to set up a robust response framework to manage the situation effectively, leading to the essential action of requesting additional ambulances.