Any suggestions for a career-changing new nursing student?

Hi all,

Wow, I am so glad to have found this board! I'm in my mid-thirties, previously a hospital chaplain and an instructor at a medical school teaching health communication skills....and then I decided to go back, get in the trenches, and go for the NP. I'm in an accelerated nursing program, with the option of extending it to a MSN on a part-time basis while building initial experience as an RN.

I'm very interested in correctional nursing but am obviously still new to clinical exposure. What would you say hiring committees are looking for in candidates? Would it be wise for me to work as an RN for a couple of years and do my MSN part-time? I also like the ED setting--would that be a good place to start after rotations? And will my having been a chaplain count against me (i.e. will they think I'm a softy, which I'm not)?

Any and all advice for this newbie would be most welcome. Thank you!