Personal handheld ultrasound devices (HUDs) without direct supervision did not increase the amount of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) usage or improve interns’ acquisition abilities. Interns who reported performing more examinations per week did not have higher RACE scores.

Improved HUD access and lectures without additional feedback may not improve POCUS mastery.

Internal medicine intern physicians (n = 47) at a single institution from 2017 to 2018 were randomized 1:1 to receive personal HUDs (n = 24) for patient care/self-directed learning vs no-HUDs (n = 23).

HUD interns reported performing POCUS assessments on patients a mean 6.8 (SD 2.2) times per week vs 6.4 (SD 2.9) times per week in non-HUD arm (P = .66).

There was no relationship between the number of self-reported examinations per week and a trainee’s post-intervention RACE score (rho = 0.022, P = .95).

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