Dr McLean was raised and educated in Brisbane where he completed a Bachelor of Physiotherapy with honours in 2008 and subsequently a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery with honours in 2011, both at the University of Queensland.
He undertook further surgical training across Queensland and the United States before gaining his fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2021. He has since undertaken further training in primary and revision hip and knee replacement at North Shore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. During his fellowship he gained experience in navigated and robotic joint replacement surgery, as well as the use of novel technologies to optimise patient outcome in joint replacement surgery.