Medical students next in line to reinforce an already understaffed NHS have expressed concern over their future prospects and a health service in crisis.
One student from the University of Sheffield, 'Isaac', said there is a "miserable" mood among staff in hospitals and that "no one is really ready to go into the carnage" of working in the NHS.
Another said they have had junior doctors telling them to "drop out of medicine while you can."
Raymond Effah, co-chair of the medical students committee at the British Medical Association, said that soaring living costs and financial problems make a "lifelong dream" for students "so much harder."
Already understaffed, recent polling indicates four in every 10 junior doctors are planning on leaving the NHS as soon as they can find themselves a new job.
Research published by the Nuffield Trust last year showed the NHS in England is already short of 12,000 hospital doctors.
When more staff are needed, longer hours are required for doctors to cover 12-hour shifts and those shifts can be tough and unforgiving. An investigation by the Sunday People has found that panic attacks are affecting some A&E medics who have no history of anxiety and around 52% suffered poor mental health in the past 12 months.
A resulting feeling of burnout has been frequently cited as a reason current doctors are leaving and it is causing apprehension for medical students about to graduate.
Many are looking nervously ahead to when they embark on their foundation years as junior doctors, known as 'F1' and 'F2'.
Another Sheffield student, 'Alex', added: "For a lot of people it is more about the hours and working conditions rather than pay... a lot of people don't know how they are going to cope with that.
"You feel like you're going to burn out pretty quickly. You're seeing that now with a lot of people actually wanting to leave medicine altogether."
Alex added: "When you're on placement and you talk to the new junior doctors and consultants, they don't make it a very exciting prospect. You get people telling you to drop out of medicine while you can."
Labour has said they hope to address the staffing problems by doubling the number of medical training places to bring in an extra 7,500 doctors a year through abolishing the non-dom tax status.
The party's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Mirror that the NHS "doesn’t have enough doctors as it is... it simply cannot afford to lose more."
Concerns run deeper than emotional burnout, however, as students can be saddled with up to £100,000 in student debt by the time they graduate.
Managing finances during the time they are students is no mean feat either. In August last year, further concerns were raised after reports of students forced to use food banks emerged.
Isaac added: "It was quite a shock to see such a high number of students having to go and use food banks."
Criticism has come the way of the NHS bursary scheme and maintenance loans. The latter was recently increased by 2.8 per cent, far less than the current rate of inflation recorded at 9.2 per cent in December 2022.
The government said it is "committed" to financially supporting medical students in England with the use of the NHS bursary and student loans.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are committed to financially supporting medical students in England throughout their studies - with student loans and the NHS Bursary available for eligible students."
The British Medical Association (BMA) argued the recent increase does "little to support the needs of medical students," and further criticism has been levelled at the bursary.
"[The maintenance loan] depends on what people's situation is," Isaac added. "If you don't have another part-time job and family support then [it is] absolutely not enough."
For those living away from home, a base £3,354 a year is available for students studying in London and £2,389 for those outside the capital.
Loans are only available during the first four years of study. After that, tuition fees are paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme and a non-means-tested grant of £1,000 is also available.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt chaired a report by the Health and Social Care Select Committee last year that recommended a replacement for the nursing bursary scheme for trainee nurses.
It was also revealed in November that Hunt privately backed Labour's plan to increase medical school places, according to leaked emails.
"Smart governments always nick the best ideas of their opponents," Hunt wrote in an email to supporters of the patient safety charity he founded.
In a statement to the Mirror, Effah added: "We see so many students struggle with soaring living costs, relying on second jobs and, in some instances, food banks. Recently announced increases to maintenance loans of 2.8% do little to support the needs of medical students, while no changes have yet again been made to the NHS bursary scheme.
"To make matters worse, this is all before such students graduate with up to £100,000 worth of debt, and almost a third of junior doctors go on to rely on overdrafts and credit cards to pay basic expenses."
Petrol payments and a £500 sum from the Univeristy of Sheffield have helped, but financially things are a "struggle," Alex added.
"Unless my parents were helping me out financially, I would be really struggling. I think that is the case for a lot of people."
He continued: "When a lot of us started our training five to six years ago we actually didn't really know what we were getting into. The state of the NHS has really deteriorated over the last six years."
Retention is key to the future of the NHS as staffing problems cannot be fixed if junior doctors continue to leave the service when they are qualified.
Dangled temptingly in front of medical students and junior doctors, however, is the prospect of working abroad.
A London-based medical student said: "The events of the last few years and the state of the NHS has made me seriously think about moving."
Another added they "can't see it being sustainable working in the NHS after foundation" and is considering splitting their work across the NHS and private care.
The likely scenario for a number of those planning to leave is for them to complete their foundation years in the NHS, which come with qualifications that would make the move to seemingly brighter shores much easier.
Alex explained: "You're just not looking forward to graduating anymore. Most people do their F1 and F2 training in the NHS because it is worthwhile doing that. I'll spend two years in the NHS, but then I would be looking to leave after that to go to Australia or New Zealand."
Isaac added the idea to move elsewhere was "not the plan initially" but something that has "grown the more I have found out about medicine and the more I have spoken to other doctors."
"The more I see how miserable they all are, the more I want to leave."
He continued: "Lifestyle is probably the biggest one for me. Financially, the money will be more, like the income you'll be making as an F2 probably is enough, but having to deal with the sort of b******t admin of working in the NHS.
"Once you go somewhere like it is a bit more relaxed. You've got more respectable working hours [and] the prestige of doctors is kind of still there a little bit as well.
The recent BMA poll showed that Australia was the destination of choice for around 40 per cent of students who want to leave.
Job site Talent estimates the average salary - Australia has a blended system of public and private healthcare - for doctors in entry-level positions as $126,192 (£71,755).
Newly-graduated foundation years doctors can earn between £29,384 to £34,012, while there is a basic salary of £40,257 to £53,398 for doctors starting specialist training from 2022 onwards.
The BMA added: "Given that the reward at the end of this difficult journey is a job that has seen repeated pay cuts, a deterioration in working conditions and punitive pension taxation rules, many are questioning whether it is worth staying in the NHS."
