New physician assistant joins FirstHealth Family Care Center-Raeford

Chris McLaren, P.A.-C

RAEFORD – Chris McLaren always believed that a career in medicine was in his future.

While studying exercise science with minors in biology and psychology at Appalachian State University in Boone, he was on a track to prepare for physician assistant or medical school.

“I decided P.A. school was the better fit for me,” he says, “because it gives you the flexibility to move within different fields of medicine.”

Chris McLaren, P.A.-C, is now a certified physician assistant at the FirstHealth Family Care Center-Raeford, where he enjoys the diversity of family medicine.

“You never know what you’re going to see on any given day,” he says.

McLaren was born in Connecticut into a family that lived in various locations in the Northeast as his father moved with the U.S. Navy. He has considered Raleigh home since moving there as an elementary school student.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State, McLaren entered the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, earning his Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2009.

During his clinical rotations for MUSC’s physician assistant program, he spent time in a variety of specialties including general medicine, family medicine, women’s health, pediatrics, mental health and emergency medicine. He was a physician assistant at the Cape Fear Pain Clinic in Fayetteville before joining the FirstHealth Family Care Center-Raeford.

Away from work, McLaren is a hockey, baseball and football fan who also enjoys spending time with his 6-month-old Golden Retriever.

The FirstHealth Family Care Center-Raeford is located at 313 Teal Drive. Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday (walk-in clinic only). To make an appointment with Chris McLaren, P.A.-C, or one of the other providers, call (910) 904-2350.