Rate My Professor Clare McLaren

Clare McLaren serves as a Senior Lecturer in Medical Radiation Science at Curtin Medical School, within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. She possesses over 35 years of clinical radiography experience, bringing substantial practical expertise to her teaching and research roles. Her professional journey includes extensive work in paediatric interventional radiology at a children's hospital. Initially approaching the role as a locum radiographer with reluctance due to fears of working with children, McLaren transitioned to a profound passion for the field. She played a key role in developing a new interventional radiology service dedicated to paediatric patients, addressing unique challenges such as performing procedures under general anaesthesia, adapting adult-sized equipment for children, and ensuring neonatal warmth during interventions.

In her clinical career as a consultant radiographer, McLaren managed complex cases involving conditions like vascular malformations, vein of Galen malformations, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and congenital tracheal stenosis. She navigated family dynamics, consent processes, and provided long-term care, fostering deep attachments through patient milestones such as school photos. Her experiences encompassed both rewarding multidisciplinary collaborations and emotional difficulties, including patient deaths and emergency responses in the interventional radiology suite. At Curtin University, McLaren contributes to the Bachelor of Science (Medical Radiation Science) program by teaching essential units, including MIRA4016 Medical Radiation Special Topics 1, MIRA3000 Clinical Medical Imaging Practice 3, MIRA2015 Medical Radiation Instrumentation 2, and MIRA4017 Medical Radiation Special Topics 2. Her scholarly output includes the narrative article 'Who'd work with kids?' published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences in 2023, which details her career evolution in paediatric radiology, and 'The radiographer's role in interprofessional teams' in 2024, examining collaborative healthcare dynamics. McLaren engages with professional bodies such as the Australian and New Zealand Medical Radiations Research Network and the Australasian Society for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy.