Victoria Boline Frederikke Jensen (1847–1930) was a Danish

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...

and nursing supervisor. From 1914, she headed the Danish

Deaconess Institute () is a large site in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark, owned by the Danish Deaconess Community and used for various social and healthcare-related activities, including a home for the elderly and training of nurses. History ...

, succeeding

Sophie Zahrtmann Mette Sophie Zahrtmann (1841–1925) was a Danish deaconess and nurse. Zahrtmann became Sister Superior of the Danish Deaconess Institute in Copenhagen after the death of its founder Louise Conring in 1891. She is remembered for expanding the deaco ...

. She was also the driving force behind the establishment of a hospital in India by the

Foreign Christian Missionary Society Foreign Christian Missionary Society (FCMS) was a Christian missionary society established by the Disciples of Christ.Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of ...

, known in Denmark as ''Ydre Mission''.

Biography

Born on 16 January 1847 in Copenhagen, Jensen was the daughter of Peter Jensen, a porcelain merchant, and his wife Kristine Marie Hansen. She grew up with her four siblings in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

district of Copenhagen. While still young, she was influenced by Rudolph Frimodt (1828–1879) who headed Copenhagen's

Inner Mission The Inner Mission (german: Innere Mission, also translated as Home Mission) was and is a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner. It quickly spread from Germany to ...

. After working for a few years as a housekeeper in

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).Frederiksberg Hospital Frederiksberg Hospital is a medium-sized government-owned general hospital located in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It has 380 beds (2005) and an emergency department. The hospital is a teaching hospital for medical students from Copenhagen Univers ...

where she remained for 38 years. In 1877, she was installed as a deaconess. She lived at the Deaconess Institute for the rest of her life. Jensen, who oversaw important changes at Frederiksberg Hospital, was instrumental in organizing systematic nurses' training there. As the establishment grew from a small hospital with just 50 patients to accommodate as many as 700, she introduced separate departments for medicine, surgery and mental illness. Thanks to her training initiatives, she received honorary membership of the

Danish Nurses' Organization The Danish Nurses' Organization ( abbrev. DNO; in Danish ''Dansk Sygeplejeråd'', abbrev. ''DSR'') is a trade union in Denmark. It represents 95% of all nurses with a membership of 75,000. The DNO is affiliated with the FTF – Confederation of ...

. In 1912,

Charlotte Munck Charlotte Munck (born 2 December 1969) is a Denmark, Danish actress. She is notable for starring in the Danish police television drama ''Anna Pihl'' as the title character, which was aired on TV2. She was born in Aarhus and raised in the Oerst ...

, who headed the organization, wrote of Jensen's "wise and skillful management" at Frediksberg Hospital. When Sophie Zahrtmann retired as head of the Deaconess Institute in 1914, Jensen was invited to take her place. Owing to her age (now 67) and an arthritic condition, she agreed to take up the post but only for a period of five years. With the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the institute's budgetary problems, it proved a difficult time. She did nevertheless design a training program for young nurses at the institute, fully in accordance with the requirements of the nurses' organization. Jensen also participated in other organizations, especially the Ydre Mission, where she was the driving force behind the establishment of a hospital in India around the turn of the century. From 1904, she was also an active member of the newly established ''Kristelig Forening for Sygeplejersker'' (Christian Association for Nurses). On her retirement in 1919, Jensen was awarded the Danish

Medal of Merit Several countries award a military or civil medal called Medal of Merit: * Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) * Medal of Merit (Denmark) * Medal of Merit of the Dominican Woman * Medal of Merit of the National People's Army (East Germany) * Medal of M ...

. Victoria Jensen died on 28 May 1930 in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

and is buried in

Solbjerg Park Cemetery Solbjerg Park Cemetery ( da, Solbjerg Parkkirkegård) Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality Frederiksberg Ko ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Victoria 1847 births 1930 deaths People from Copenhagen Danish nurses Danish women nurses Deaconesses