I am trying to get a job in IT and I saw that the largest hospital in my state has hundreds of open positions. It is in my city so driving there would not be an issue for me. Filling out online applications feels like a waste of time and some of my friends have said that it is better to go in person. Which would make the better impression and is mostly likely to have my application read? Should I put on a suit and show up at the hospital on Tuesday, or just apply online?
What does the listing say they want you to do? A lot of them get specific about the process they want you to follow, and defying that edict will probably (I’m told) get you disqualified for being unable/unwilling to follow instructions as given.
If this were about a maintenance gig, or administrative work, or actually handling patients, it may be relevant to consider applying in person. But in IT, in 2014?
Also, in a large organisation such as a hospital, the person to whom you will give your papers will be unrelated to the hiring process. At best, you’ll be singled out as one of the 3 candidates who submitted the old-fashioned way. At worst, your papers will die in somebody’s inbox while the decision maker is busy sorting/comparing all on-line candidates in an Excel sheet.
Online, that’s going to be the norm and that’s what’s going to be considered during the hiring process.
It occurs to me that by going online (if you’re really GOOD at IT stuff), you give yourself an opportunity to make your competition disappear. 
If you show up in my facility with a paper resume asking for a paper application, I am going to tell you to apply online. If I do take your resume because you insist, it will go into an interoffice envelope with an attached note letting them know this IT applicant apparently doesn’t know how to read, and possibly doesn’t know how to do a simple online application.