Nursing students, regardless of age, must cope with situational and developmental stressors. Nursing students may react with feelings of anxiety and stress. This anxiety magnifies the feelings of insecurity and oppression intrinsic to the student role. Some stress is a significant deterrent to feelings of success, overshadowing the student role and clinical experiences and pervading the whole life experience. This paper identifies some of the developmental and situational stress experienced by nursing students. Eleven coping strategies are outlined as guidelines "for staying sane as a student nurse."