As the amount of knowledge in the sciences has dramatically increased in the last decades, that approach to medicine has proven impractical, Fineberg said. A number of new methods of teaching had been proposed, but none gained wide acceptance.

In 1985, Tosteson introduced The New Pathway to a limited number of HMS first- and second-year students, hoping to lead medical education away from rote memorization and toward analytical problem-solving, the press release said.

In this way, he hoped medical education would become a continuing process for doctors in that they would better be able to research and analyze new problems as they occur, Fineberg said.

Tosteson's concern with education and with students is no surprise. According to R. Bruce Donoff, dean of the Harvard Dental School, Tosteson has always kept the students firmly in mind.

"He has a real love of students," Donoff said. "He has a wonderful sense of where they belong in terms of the organization."

What is remarkable about the success of this new approach is that it came from such a well-established school, Fineberg said.

"If you kook at medical education at places that have succeeded in making changes, it almost always happens at new schools or at places that are in trouble," Fineberg said. "What is incredible about the changes Dean Tosteson made is that they happened at a school already in the vanguard of education.

Rudenstine said in a statement from the Medical School News Office that a nation-wide search for Tosteson's replacement will begin immediately.

According to Carnesale, he, Rudenstine and Tosteson will work together with other members of the HMS community to search for candidates. The three have already discussed possible successors but have not made overtures to any of them.

While Carnesale said there is no deadline for a new dean, he said he hopes the decision could be made relatively early in the academic year to facilitate a smooth transition.

During the next year, Tosteson will work on a number of continuing projects such as bringing together researchers from affiliated hospitals to one location, creating a year-long set of clerkships for medical students emphasizing ambulatory care, increasing the faculty's involvement in curriculum changes and continuing the school's participation in the University's capital campaign