Dr. Jenson, a native of Crystal Lake, earned an undergraduate degree from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. He played football while studying biology and chemistry, and also spent a semester at the Taipei Language Institute in Kaousiung, Taiwan, where he taught English and learned the Chinese language.

Dr. Jenson then earned a medical degree from the University of Iowa, and completed an internship and residency at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Des Moines. He also completed two fellowships - one in peripheral vascular surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in Portland, OR; and the other in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery research at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Dr. Jenson then practiced cardiothoracic surgery in the Portland area for two years before joining Iowa Heart Center in 1997. He is board certified in thoracic surgery and currently practices at Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines.