One-fifth of Americans live in “non-metropolitan” areas. In addition to referring to the smaller towns and suburbs that are often thought of as giving America its character and charm, non-metropolitan also means rural.

America’s rural areas are considered critical health care hot spots these days due to a lack of physicians, other primary care providers including physician assistants, and health care workers in general who can staff the numerous community clinics that serve rural populations.

The state of Maine has one of the largest percentages of rural areas in the country. I know this also from personal experience, having family there.

Sometimes it feels like going back in a temporarily pleasant time machine, where if a little wooden bridge goes out, a town becomes instantly divided, and where there are still waitresses in local diners who have memorized even the smallest branches of the family tree of every town resident.

I understand and embrace rural living, but unfortunately there do not seem to be enough health care workers who share this sentiment. In Maine, there is a high demand for pharmacy technicians.

Quick Job Summary:
-Training or informal on-the-job training is acceptable, however more and more employers (especially the higher dollar ones) prefer those with formal training and national certification
-32% employment growth predicted between 2006 and 2016
-Pharmacy Techs. are expected to have more responsibilities than ever, in coming years as hospitals tighten their belts and start redistributing the work of pharmacists and pharmacy aides, to pharmacy techs with more opportunities ahead.
-There are many different employment opportunities for pharmacy technicians, but the highest salaries are in hospital jobs

In response to the local demand for rural pharmacy technicians, Maine recently opened two new pharmacy schools at The University of New England in Portland and Husson University in Bangor. A representative from Husson, has stated that Maine has the third highest demand for pharmacy techs in the country.

The need for health care workers in all areas – from pharmacy technicians, lab technicians, medical imaging technicians and phlebotomists to medical transcriptionists, hospital administrators and dental assistants – does not stop in Maine. Health care workers are in high demand in all areas, especially rural, all around the country.