Obtaining letters for fellowship applications during residency

[Apply Pressure]

Hey all, I hope the SDN world is doing great.

I'm currently a PGY-2 internal medicine resident who will be taking a year off prior to submitting fellowship applications. Nevertheless, I had a PGY-3 friend of mine tell me to obtain letters of recommendation immediately after completing key rotations so that the attending remembers who I am. Especially if he/she has great things to say about me or if I received positive feedback.

I wanted to know what the general consensus was on this:

1) Is it stronger to get letters immediately after rotations or to wait and have them written just prior to applications?
2) Is it generally accepted to have recommendation letters for fellowship to be written at varying time-points throughout an applicant's residency career?
3) If it is preferable to obtain letters now, where would I have these letters sent for them to be held until applications? (Again, recall that I will not be applying soon).

Thanks.

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[mlw03]

Yeah, get the letters now while the attendings remember who you are and the quality of your work. I'd suggest asking your program coordinator to hold them letters for you in your residency file.